


Family Planning

by giggling_bubble



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Angst, Artificial Insemination, Attraction, Courtship, Cuddling, Dating, Dysfunctional Family, Eventual Romance, F/M, Family Fluff, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Jealousy, Perfume, Pregnancy, Protectiveness, Role Reversal, Sneakiness, Starting Over, baby agreste, evolving dynamics, miraculous baby, naps
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-22
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2018-10-22 10:57:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 39,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10695591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/giggling_bubble/pseuds/giggling_bubble
Summary: Marinette is tired of being alone. Now successful in her career she is determined to take hey life into her own hands and start her family;  with or without a man.Alya can't let her go to a clinic and get some rando swimmers; enter Adrien Agreste. Things don't quite work out as planned.





	1. Chapter 1

Marinette sat at her desk with her head on her forearm. She was successful, she was beautiful, she was confident and strong, but she didn't have any romantic interests. Well, none that were interested in her, anyway. Her twenty-third birthday was fast approaching and she didn't want to be an 'old mom.' Her mind had been made up. Plus, she'd never really thought she needed a man in her life. Ever since she'd given up on Adrien she'd resigned herself to being a bachelorette for life. There were no other options because no one else could compare.

She'd thought about asking Chat to help out, but that was crazy. That would have been awkward, you know? 'Hey, Chat, I'm at a point in my life that I don't want to be lonely forever as my civilian self and I've decided to have a baby.' Yeah, that would go over well. He'd either 1) turn her down or 2) want to be a part of it. Which would never happen because they really shouldn't reveal themselves.

Her phone beeped and she noticed there was a text message from Alya.

Alya: You still thinking about going through with it?

Marinette: Yes.

Alya: Can we have lunch and discuss this before you make any big decisions?

Marinette: There's not much to discuss, Alya. It's pretty straight forward.

Alya: I was meaning the after, silly. Plus, I might have a cheaper option.

Marinette frowned. She trusted her friend, she did, but she could imagine her 'have a cheaper option' message being finished off with a conspiratorial wink.

Marinette: Alya. I don't have to save money. Money isn't a problem these days.

Alya: Just hear me out, girl! Please! Come out with me. Trust me!

Marinette: Okay. I can't really do it today, anyway, but I'll see you at lunch. Where are we going?

There was a moment Marinette waited and shrugged. Perhaps Alya had gotten distracted. There was a lot going on in a newsroom.

Alya: Becco's. It's the new place out by your parents' place.

Marinette: Yeah, I know it. I'll meet you there. Usual time.

Alya: See ya!

* * *

Alya ran as fast as her feet could go to Francois DuPont. She ran by the office, grabbed a guest pass, and zoomed to the office of one Adrien Agreste. It was the lunch break and he HAD to talk to him. There was NO WAY she'd let her have a random guy father her best friend's child. Plus, Adrien would be perfect! Not only would he be willing, because he's a sweet guy like that, but it would make Marinette SO happy should she ever want to find out.

"Alya?!" his surprise was thick, "What are you doing here?"

Out of breath, she leaned down to place her hand on her knee, "I...wanted...to ask...if you...could talk."

"Um," he flipped through the grade book he'd been scribbling in, "Can you give me a few minutes? I'm almost done here."

"Sure!" she grinned.

She sat out in the hall and waited for Adrien to leave. He locked shut and locked his door.

"Shall we?" he gestured towards the hall. There were a handful of high school age girls who giggled as he walked by and gave him shy waves. Alya chuckled.

"Just like old times, huh?"

Adrien groaned, "I'm used to it."

"I never would have imagined you teaching college, Mr. Agreste."

He chuckled, "Neither did my father."

"Yeah, how did you manage that?"

"I specialized in science education and business management with a focus in economics," he smirked.

"So you are going to take over the company some day?"

"If Marinette doesn't get there first," he nodded.

"Hey now, do I sense that you're jealous of my girl?"

He shrugged, "No. I mean, my father loves her," there was a flinch when he said those words, "But I'm really proud of her and how much she's accomplished."

Alya smiled, "Then, speaking of Marinette, she's in a really momentous place in her life and I wanted to see if there was any way you could help her out."

Adrien side eyed Alya, "Do I detect a hint of nervousness, Mlle. Cesaire?"

"Ugh," she groaned, "Marinette has given up on finding Mr. Right and is going to start a family without one. Is there ANY way you could help?" She nudged him with her elbow and gave him the *wink-wink.*

"ME!?!?!?!" He pressed his hand to his chest and fell back against the nearest wall, "You want ME to do what?!"

"Shhh," she approached him like he was a caged animal, "Keep it down. No, you don't have to...sleep with her, although I'm sure she'd be perfectly okay with that, but she's going to a fertility clinic and going to buy some random guy's swimmers. I can't let my girl do that! Come on, dude, she needs you!"

Adrien's head was spinning. He put a hand against his forehead and groaned, "This is a big decision, Alya."

"Well, she's going tomorrow. You can help her out, and take one for the team, or let her make a baby with some unknown bozo who could mess up her kid. Hey, at least you'll know it'll be cute."

"Alya," his voice got soft, "I always wanted to have kids, you know? This isn't how I wanted the first one to be born."

Alya put her hands on his shoulders and smiled sweetly at him, "I get it. I do. I completely understand. I would ask Nino, but that would ruin any chance of Marinette's kid and my future offspring getting together and joining our families; should that ever happen. Marinette _needs_ you. I _need_ you. For the love of God, Nino _needs_ you."

"Okay," he nodded, "I'll do it. What do I have to do?"

She glances at her watch, "Hold that thought. I'll be back!"

* * *

Alya approached Marinette on the patio seating at Becco's with a grin to rival the sun.

"What are you so happy about?" Marinette smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Alya giggled, "Girl, I just did you THE biggest solid. I found you a donor."

"WHAT?!?!" Marinette spit her lemon water all over the concrete, "Alya! I said I wanted to do this on my own."

"I know, I know, I know, but I couldn't let you get some random dude's DNA for your spawn."

"He's not going to be that random. I'll get to look over his profile and pick."

"No," Alya shook her head, "You can't do that, Marinette. What if I PROMISE, on my future child's life, that he's PERFECT would you PLEASE just trust me and do this?"

Marinette squirmed in her seat, "You'll know who he is?"

"Yes," Alya nodded.

"I don't know if I can do it then. I don't want to know who it is."

"You're killing me, girl. I SWEAR I won't tell you. I won't. Not unless you ask me to."

Marinette groaned, "All right. All right. Sure."

"When do you want to do this? I'll have to give him a heads up so he can...ahem...get his heads up," she chuckled.

"AL-YA!" Marinette whined, "Do you have to be so crude?"

"Sorry. I'm just excited you said yes. I have to go. We have to plan."

"How does tomorrow sound?" Marinette asked.

"Why tomorrow?" Alya quirked an eyebrow.

"Um, my window is kind of starting today. I have four days and tomorrow would be optimal."

"Yes, tomorrow will work!"

With that Alya was off with a flash.

"Hey, what about lunch?!" Marinette called after her.

Alya held up a hand behind her, "RAINCHECK!!"


	2. Chapter 2

Alya had been staying with Marinette since she and Nino were getting married. They had to be able to keep some surprises surprises. Plus, Marinette was designing and sewing Alya's dress. It was easier to do fittings, alterations, and lend opinions this way.

Marinette lived in the Penthouse ever since she made V.P. at Agreste Fashion; which owned _Gabriel_. She was the youngest one on the board. Adrien never came to meetings even though he would inherit 51% of the stock. He wasn't technically on the board or had anything to do with the company. Marinette had been gifted 1% with her promotion and her parents had sunk her savings account, one for a wedding, house, and school, into the purchase of an additional chunk. She sat at 1.5%. The rapid rise was all on her own and she was proud.

Alya sat in the living room slaving over magazine clippings to scrapbook for her wedding planner. There were three little stacks of paper that she'd unceremoniously shoved into a binder. There were a couple more hours left before Marinette came home and she was expecting Adrien any minute. Although, truth be told, Marinette was an over-achiever and would probably work an extra hour or two. That's when her phone chirped.

Adrien: I'm here! Which unit?

Alya: Penthouse.

Adrien: Snazzy!

There was another minute of silence before her phone chirped again.

Adrien: The attendant wants to know who I'm visiting?

Alya: Mlle. Dupain-Cheng.

Adrien: This is Marinette's apartment?

Alya: Sure is. Come on up!

Adrien: She's not supposed to know, right?

Alya: No. She won't be home for a while.

There was a knock on the door and Alya opened it to see a stressed looking Adrien. She was afraid that if there were a light breeze he'd fall over. Alya gestured for him to come in and guided him to the bar where he could take a seat on a stool. The difference between yesterday's and today's Adrien was like night and day; yesterday he'd been so put together. Today he was borderline frazzled mess.

"Would you like a drink or something?"

"No, thanks," he replied.

"Well, this is it. Home sweet home...for now," she smiled.

"This is nice!" he nodded as he looked around.

"You all right?" she asked.

"Yeah." There was a silence before he shrugged, "Well, you know, this is a pretty big deal, Alya. I mean, this is...huge. I don't know how I feel. I'm really conflicted about it." He bit his lip nervously.

"Adrien," Alya was in front of him, instantly, and placed both of her hands on his shoulders. She looked up into his eyes to convey her appreciation and understanding, "I know this is an enormous decision, okay? I realize that creating a baby is a tremendously important event. No one appreciates it more than Marinette. I don't trust anyone else to do this for my best friend. You know that, right?"

"Would she be okay with this?" he asked gesturing to himself.

Alya snickered, "You're kidding, right? She'd be overjoyed! Marinette was head-over-heels for you in school, quite literally," Adrien's eyes widened and his jaw dropped. He couldn't bring himself to speak and stared blankly at Alya. "You didn't know?! How did you not know?!"

Adrien spluttered, "B-but, she, we...no, I didn't effing know!! How was I supposed to know?"

"Well, Marinette lost her mind any time she was around you, for starters. Then, she was always stammering and avoiding eye contact."

"And showing up to all the stuff I went to..."

"Nah, that was just because you two had a shit ton in common. You're both weird. I always thought you'd get together," she shrugged, "Meh, see what I know."

Adrien was all of a sudden extremely interested in his feet. Alya took the opportunity to retrieve the sample cup. She held it out to him.

"Okay, I'm going to step out for a while. Text me when you're done and place it in the fridge. OK?"

He looked at the cup and gulped. "I'm terrified."

Alya smiled comfortingly at him and placed a hand on his forearm, "If you don't want to, I'm sure she'd understand. She can go to the clinic tomorrow."

He shook his head and breathed out slowly, "No. No, I can do this for Marinette."

"You're amazing, you know that? She's lucky to have you, even if she doesn't know it. This way," she led him to the master bathroom and flipped on the light, "Unless you're more comfortable," and gestured to the bed.

"Thanks. I'll text you."

* * *

Alya was walking around down at the shops near the apartment building and her phone chirped, "I left it and let myself out."

"You're the best!"

Alya was near the apartment building when she saw him leaving. She was about to wave him down to tell him bye when she saw what kind of a mess he was; tear tracks adorned his blotchy face and red ringed eyes. It looked like his heart had been wrenched out of his chest and Alya immediately regretted asking him to do this. She had made a horrible mistake and he was hurting.

Alya: Nino, I think I really effed up here.

Nino: What now? Colors clashing again? Purple goes with everything.

Alya: I'm serious. Check on Adrien for me? He looked really upset. Don't tell him I saw him upset, though.

Nino: Shit.

Alya: Yeah.

Nino: Damn it, Alya. I told you he couldn't handle it.

Alya: He said he could.

Nino: You never listen to me.

Alya: Just fix it, Nino. I love you!

Nino: Yeah, yeah. No promises. Love you.

* * *

Nino: Hey, bro, you wanna go out for a drink tonight?

Adrien: No 2nite.

Nino: You busy?

Adrien: N. Y. Knda.

Nino: Are you drunk?

Adrien: Wht gvs?

Nino: You're omitting vowels and words entirely.

Adrien: Goway, Nino.

Nino: And hateful.

There was a long pause. Too long.

Nino: Dude? You all right?

Adrien: No.

Adrien slumped over the cardboard box of college and lycee memories. He dug it out when he got home. In almost every picture, with he and Marinette together, she was staring at him with adoring eyes.

"How did I miss that?" Then he remembered...ladybug. He was obsessed with ladybug. He almost resented her after all these years. He was a 23 year old virgin thanks to the woman that set the bar.

He'd tried dating in university. They'd start to be intimate and everything would feel off and wrong. He'd managed to get to second base with one girl before chickening out.

Part of it was his father's fault, he was sure, but Ladybug always made him feel at ease, regardless. He'd considered Marinette, once upon a time, but decided she didn't think of him that way. He was so oblivious to her adulation!

His bottle of wine was about empty as his tear ducts. "I'm an idiot."

A knock sounded on his door, but he just ignored it. He didn't want company. That's when there was a key in the door.

"Damn it! Go away, Nino," he growled.

Nino opened the door and peeked in, "You scared me, dude." He walked up to an ataxic Adrien and patted his back. "You look like hell." 

"Gee, thanks. And here I thought I was hiding it so we'll. Oh, wait...no, I effectively squeezed my heart out this afternoon. Yeah, I feel like hell. I probably look like hell."

Nino sighed, "I knew it was a bad idea. You're too good a person, bro. It'll get easier. I'll help you through it, all right?" Adrien was shocked that his tear ducts weren't empty, after all, as he started crying again. Nino lifted him off the table and assisted him to bed. Adrien was already in sweats and a T-shirt, "Sleep it off, dude."

Adrien grabbed Nino's wrist, "Could you stay here tonight, Nino. I'm tired of being alone all the time."

Nino had heard the exact same words from Alya relaying what Marinette said as her reasons for this crazy idea in the first place. Marinette married her job and was tired of being alone all the time. Alya suggested a dog. Marinette was adamant to start her family now. Nino had a wickedly ironic case of deja vu.

"Dude, you and Marinette need to talk," Nino grumbled through clenched teeth.


	3. Chapter 3

Marinette got home from work and unceremoniously dropped her bag and keys on the table by the front door.

"Honey, I'm home!" she called cheerfully.

Alya got up from her seat in the living room to come greet her, "And how was work, darling?"

"Actually, today was grueling," she groaned, "Submissions were this morning. I'm ready for a relaxing weekend and a soak in my tub."

"Before or after?" Alya ran off to the kitchen and brought the cup from the fridge, waggling it in front of Marinette.

She squealed, "YOU GOT IT!!!" Marinette threw her arms around Alya's shoulders and jumped excitedly, "Alya, you're the best!"

"Careful, careful, careful, we don't want to spill it. This is your future in this cup," her expression faltered only slightly, before plastering an ecstatic smile back on her face. She'd be happy for Marinette, now. She could be sad for Adrien, later. This wasn't the time.

Marinette took the container and smiled, "Good lord, Alya! Who'd you hire? A horse?"

Alya snickered at that. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"There's enough here for two applications. I'm going to go now and again after supper."

Alya crossed her fingers as Marinette snuck off to the bathroom.

"Oh, God," Alya sighed and placed her head in her hand, "This has been such an awkward day."

* * *

Marinette took the sample with her to the bathroom where she retrieved her sterile syringes. She quickly hopped into the bathtub and cleaned the outside area of her labia to be sure no contaminants got in. She was going to do this right, dang it!

She slipped into a comfortable negligee, checked her watch, and climbed into her bed. Once her syringe was set she lifted her pelvis with a pillow like she'd been told to do. Then, she took syringe and slowly deposited the fluids into her vaginal canal as close to her cervix as she could get.

"Well, now we wait," the watch said 6:15. She could go eat some dinner with Alya at 6:45 and then come back and do this again. "Oh, and one more thing."

Her hand slipped down between her legs and she began to gently stroke the sensitive nub between her legs. A blonde haired boy's image popped into her head, as he so often did, and she leaned her head back.

"Adrien," she whispered as her fingers quickened. Her goal was to get off as quickly as possible and this was the fastest way to do it.

It only took another few quick strokes of her fingers to reach her climax. Her entire lower body tensed and convulsed before completely melting into the bed.

"Ugh," she gasped as she propped the pillow behind her head. "Whew."

* * *

Alya had supper ready by the time Marinette came back from her room.

"Nice nightie!" Alya appraised. It was a blush pink satin with eyelet lace around the sweetheart neckline and the scalloped bottom.

"Thanks," Marinette grimaced, "I had to be comfortable, after all." Marinette tugged her robe closed around her and tied it. She'd slipped on a liner to catch any goop that might leak out to avoid any further awkward situations at the table.

"How did it go?" Alya asked as she saw Marinette deposit the cup back in the fridge.

"Actually? Amazingly simple," Marinette grinned, "I just hope it works."

"You and me both," Alya nodded.

Alya sent Nino a quick text.

Alya: Have you heard from Adrien.

Nino: Yeah. He doesn't sound good. I'm heading over. He's drunk.

Alya: Adrien's drunk?

Nino: I know, right? Not good.

Alya: Good luck.

"Who are you texting?" Marinette asked glancing over.

"Nino," Alya smiled and hid her phone, "Nothing to worry your little head over." Yet.

"Tell him I said 'hello.'"

"Will do."

"Wait, Nino isn't," Marinette said, an edge of panic, as she pointed towards the fridge.

"God, no!" Alya raspberried, "No, no, no. I'm not supposed to tell you, though, so don't ask any more questions."

Marinette frowned, "Shoot. Yeah, sorry. The curiosity is so much more intense now."

"After the fact? Well, honey, it's been like half an hour. You really need to work on your fortitude."

She nodded, "Noted."

"Cause I'm not going to tell until you've AT LEAST got a bundle in your arms. Then I might if you ask nicely."

They sat over their places of panko chicken and cous-cous before Marinette stood up and excused herself, "Well, I'm off to bed. I might wait to do another round tomorrow morning. It is Saturday, after all."

"Sure," Alya nodded, "Sounds like a plan."

Marinette yawned, "Are we old yet? It's only 7:45 and I'm going to bed."

"Well, Marinette, you've been working yourself ragged. You are not old, but exhausted. Go to bed."

"Yes, mom."

"I should be calling you that here in a few weeks."

"I HOPE SO!!" she squealed excitedly, "Oh, Alya, I'm so excited!"

"As you should be," Alya smirked, "Go to bed!"

"Night, Alya!"

"Night, girl!"

* * *

At 9:30 Alya couldn't contain herself. Nino still hadn't texted her back to tell her how Adrien was doing. He should have seen him by now.

Alya: How is our boy doing?

Nino: I don't want to talk about it.

Alya: That bad, huh?

Nino: I am sleeping on his couch tonight because of you.

Alya: Oh, Adrien, buddy, I'm so sorry. Sorry, Nino.

Nino: You should be.

Alya: I'll make it up to you. I promise.

Nino: Make it up to him, Alya.

Alya: I'll try. I will.

Nino: He and Marinette need to talk.

Alya: No! She can't know, Nino. She asked me not to tell. You're not supposed to know.

Nino: Well that might be the only option. I came by and he's going over pictures from school. He'd picked out all the ones with he and Mari.

Alya: Oh, no. Really?!

Nino: I think he might have liked her, Alya.

Alya: Shit. He didn't get the memo she liked him. I found that out today.

Nino: Like I said. They need to talk.

Alya: Well, have a good night, Nino. Love you.

Nino: Love you.

 


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a couple weeks since Marinette attempted insemination and she was going to try her pregnancy test tonight. There hadn't been any akumas in days, thankfully. Chat had been all kinds of out of sorts. There was something up with him, but Ladybug couldn't pry too much into his civilian life for fear he'd reveal too much about himself.

_"I'm just fine, my lady."_

_"Okay, Chat. Whatever you say. You just aren't acting fine is all."_

_"Thank you for your concern," he smiled, "I'll be all right. I promise."_

_"So you're not..."_

_He frowned, "I might have exaggerated, but I'm not lion...I'm all right."_

_Ladybug uncharacteristically gave Chat a gentle hug that he returned with fervor._

_"You have no idea how much I needed that."_

_She smiled up at him, "Yes, I did. I'm here for you Chat. You know that, right?"_

_"Yes, my lady," he nodded, "I appreciate it more than you know."_

Her hand automatically drifted down to her abdomen and she smiled. With a quick couple swipes on her phone, she took a selfie. Time to start scrapbooking her journey to motherhood. Hopefully, it was all in motion. She'd be buying a pregnancy test this afternoon when she was on her way home from work.

* * *

Adrien glanced at his alarm clock with disdain. It was another day to go to school and teach. He loved it, he did, but these last couple weeks had been torturous. 

He spent most nights lying in bed thinking, "What if she's pregnant? Would it matter? Do I want to know? Would I be happy? Should I just tell Nino and Alya I don't want to know? What if I run into Marinette and she's round with my child?" _My child._ That phrase went through his head more often than it should and he felt guilty because he knew he had no claim to any human being that might be residing in her uterus. They didn't have any correspondence. The last time he'd actually seen Marinette was at a lunch with Alya and Nino over a month ago to be asked to be in their wedding party. Why did he feel like he wanted it to be his so badly? Sure, it was genetically, but why did he want to be there to raise it so badly?

A warm shower, a clean set of clothes, and a coffee later and he felt like a human again. His phone had four missed text messages.

Nino: Dude, wanna go out for dinner tonight?

Nino: Okay, which one--blue or green? Or a blue-green?

Nino: I'm dying here, bro. Personal tip--don't ever get married.

Nino: Sorry, dude. I didn't mean that. I'm stressing out!

Adrien chuckled at his friends antics. The small dilemmas he was struggling with he could only assume were made worse with the assertive personality of Alya. Anything Nino might want to decide was for sure superseded by what Alya wanted.

Adrien: Colors for...?

Nino: Your accents. Our colors are blue and green. Which one do you want?

Adrien: Green.

Nino: DONE! Thanks, bro.

Adrien loved living so close to the school that he could easily walk and get their at a decent time. It was early still and he wanted some breakfast on the way.

"Good morning, Dupain-Chengs," he announced as he walked in the front door. He'd built a sort of rapport with Marinette's parents. In a way, he felt like he knew her more now because of them. It didn't help ease the tension of 'what if,' either. They were more parents to him than his own father was and he relished his visits.

Sabine and Tom saw more of Adrien Agreste than their own daughter.

Sabine smiled and greeted, "Adrien! Good morning, dear."

"Do you have any of those delicious eclairs this morning by any chance?"

"Chocolate or bavarian creme?" she asked.

"Hmm...creme," he smiled, "I'm a sucker for vanilla."

"Oh, honey, I know," Sabine chuckled as she brought him two eclairs that were fresh.

He licked his lips and smiled, "Can you just adopt me," he chuckled.

"You could always marry Marinette," Sabine chuckled. Adrien frowned, but Sabine didn't notice. "Lord knows she could use a man in her life."

Adrien smirked at that, though. Then something came out of his mouth that he hadn't anticipated and soon found himself absolutely mortified...dang Chat, "Send her my way!" Sure, the Dupain-Chengs knew he was single, but that was awfully forward of him. Plus, his situation with Marinette was complicated; for him, anyway. He let out a nervous chuckle and tried not to curl into himself.

"I definitely will," Sabine beamed and went back to stocking the displays.

Adrien ate the rest of his breakfast quickly and headed off to school with 'good-bye and thank you.'

* * *

Marinette curled over her cup of coffee, completely disinterested, and wrinkled her nose.

"What's wrong with your coffee?" Alya asked, frowning.

"Nothing," Marinette shrugged, "I just don't want coffee this morning."

"You're knocked up. I'm calling it right now. Girl, you don't turn your nose up at coffee...ever."

"Alya, just because I don't want coffee doesn't mean I'm pregnant."

"The hell it doesn't. I don't know of anything that would make it any more obvious."

 Marinette rolled her eyes, "Well, I am trying to get pregnant so..."

As soon as Marinette had headed out the door Alya got on her phone to text Nino.

Alya: She's fo shiz up the tuber, dude!

Nino: How do you know?

Alya: Turned her nose up at coffee.

Nino: NOT IT!

Alya: Whoa, why you got to be that way, boo?

Nino: Sorry, Als, but I'm not the responsible party here. Your idea, your responsibility.

Alya: You SUCK! I hate you.

Nino: You love me.

Alya: Fine, I love you, but I don't like you right now.

* * *

Alya made her way to the school she'd had such fond memories of, but this time she was dreading it more than ever. Her feet felt like they were full of lead as she trudged up the main steps and headed towards the office of one Adrien Agreste.

"Knock, knock," she said as she peeked her head in. Adrien glanced up, but didn't offer his usual patented smile.

"Alya," he glanced up at her before going back to writing furiously on a work sheet he'd handed out in class. "I'm grading, can this wait?"

"Sure," she nodded and began to leave.

"Wait," he called with a huff, "I didn't mean it. I'm sure you came down here for a reason." He saw she was much too content to make herself scarce for him to not pay attention.

Alya swung her foot around to pivot back into his office. With a quick flopping motion she was sitting in front of his desk, "I've got good news and I've got bad news."

"All right. What's the bad news?"

"I don't want to lead with the bad news!" Alya groaned, "Fine. I think Marinette's pregnant."

Adrien sucked in his breath with an audible hiss, but didn't say anything. Alya saw his face go pale.

"Good news? It is without a doubt, 100% yours," she wore her best fake smile as she watched him excuse himself and rush past her. "Crap, that could have gone better."

Adrien managed to make it to the teacher's bathroom before emptying the contents of his stomach. Afterwards, his back collided with a 'thump' against the cool brick wall before his walls finally came tumbling down. The tears started with wracking sobs to the point he could no longer breathe. His breaths were coming swiftly and shallow as he felt like he was going to pass out. Why was he so shaken up about this? He couldn't make sense of it. He'd never really been an emotional person, but for some reason this transcended any sort of rational explanation.

It had been a good ten minutes of non-stop hysterics before he was able to finally pep talk himself out of the floor and into some semblance of control. The door cracked open and he found Alya waiting for him. She didn't say anything, but walked forward and offered him a hug. Adrien was typically treated as untouchable for some reason or another, by all people except Ladybug, Chloe, and coincidentally, Marinette, so this was a welcomed change from their norm.

"I'm still here for you, bud."

He sniffed, "Thanks, Alya."

"Want to talk about it?"

"No," he shook his head, "There's nothing to talk about. Marinette is starting her family, with my kid, and I'm not a part of it."

"I had no right to ask you," Alya frowned as she pulled away, "This is a fine mess, isn't it?"

"Don't sweat it, Alya. You were being a great friend to Marinette."

"Not as great as you were. I wasn't a good a friend to you. I'm sorry."

"You didn't know this was how I'd feel. I didn't even know. Fuck, it hurts," he clutched at his sides like he was holding himself together and began to shake.

"Would you want to be the best god damn uncle-daddy the kid could ever ask for? Cause if you say yes I'll make it happen." A tear dripped down his cheek and she wiped it away for him, "I'll take that as a 'you'll think about it' and wait until you're ready to answer, OK?"

He nodded silently and Alya rubbed soothing circles on his back while mentally apologizing to Nino, again. What a mess?!


	5. Chapter 5

Alya made Marinette wait a couple days before she took the pregnancy test. It was mostly for Adrien's benefit, of course, as she had to find a day that he really couldn't possibly make it out with them. 1) So he could turn down any potential invite, 2) so she wouldn't feel obligated to offer such an invite, and 3) to film it and let him watch it later and still feel like part of the process. It was a way of bringing him some closure. After she'd voice her suspicious he completely lost it. Alya had never seen him lose it like that before.

The night came in the form of a large charity event that Adrien was going to attend. Marinette was supposed to attend as well, but Alya was able to talk her out of it. It was as good a time as any and that way Adrien wouldn't have to see Marinette. Marinette needed an excuse to get out of it. Win-win!

"Are you okay?" Alya knocked on the door to Marinette's bathroom.

"I'm fine!" she called, "I'm going to take a picture."

"No peeking."

"Wouldn't dream of it!"

Marinette came out of the bathroom and Alya was tempted to sneak in and peek at the test herself.

"Ah, ah, ah, no peeking," Marinette pulled the door shut after herself, "Let's go."

They met Nino at his and Alya's apartment. He'd made Mostaccioli and garlic bread. It smelled delicious.

"Hey, hey, hey, crazy girl," Nino greeted. There was a tension there and a tiredness there and she was sure he was stressing about the wedding.

"Nino!" she threw her arms around him, "How's the wedding planning going?"

He let out a disgusted 'ngh' and groaned, "Going."

Marinette giggled and walked down the hall to their guest room for a place to put her coat. Nino chased after her, but it was too late. She'd already pushed open the door and found a quietly sleeping Adrien curled up on the guest bed. Her breath hitched in her throat as she quickly, and quietly, slammed the door shut.

"Don't...!" he called after her, but it was too late.

Alya shot him a glare, "Nino, what did you do?"

"I, uh," he leaned in to whisper to her, "He was having a REALLY bad day. His dad told him he looked like shit, quote 'not presentable.' He didn't want to be home alone. I forgot all about this--reveal--thingy."

Alya face palmed and sighed, "Smooth, Nino, smooth."

"What did you expect me to do?"

"I don't know. NOT screw this up?"

Marinette came back into the kitchen, a dumbstruck look on her face, and glanced between the two furiously whispering friends, "Is Adrien asleep in your guest room?"

"Yeeee-aaaah," Nino hissed through his teeth, "About that. He's been having a rough go of it for the last couple weeks." Alya stomped on his toe from behind the breakfast bar they were standing behind. "Hey!"

"Maybe we should do this reveal some other day, huh?" she suggested.

Marinette's jaw dropped, "Alya! I thought you were just as excited as me. Besides, if he's having a rough week some good news might cheer him up. We should wait until he can come and hang out with us. I haven't seen him in a couple months. It would be nice to hang out together again."

Alya was cursing all her past deeds, counting all the skeletons in her closet, and praying for a hell to open up and swallow her whole. She didn't have enough emotional maturity to deal with this shit. "Mari, I don't think that would be such a good idea."

"Oh?" her face fell.

"Honey," Alya approached her and put her arm around her shoulder, "You either are or you aren't."

Marinette was getting the gist of this conversation and nodded, "We should be here for Adrien." She glanced down the hallway and realized that she hadn't really been a very good friend. Although her massive crush had subsided, as they often do, he was still a prominent figure in the softest recesses of her heart. Marinette didn't even offer a backwards glance at her friends when she walked down the hallway.

_"Hey, Marinette."_

_"Hi, Adrien."_

_"So, this is it. Graduation!"_

_"Yeah, right?" She squirmed restlessly from one foot to the other._

_He smiled shyly, "Can I have a hug?" He opened his arms wide._

_Marinette smiled, "Of course! You can always have a hug."_

_Adrien's eyes widened, "Really?"_

_"Yeah," she giggled._

_"I'll hold you to that," he smirked. They held each other quietly for a moment and he whispered in her ear, "You give the best hugs, too. I've been missing out."_

_They fell out of touch after that. He went to college, she went to her apprenticeship, and the rest was history._

Her friends began their hushed whispering again as soon as she left the room. There was only a slight hesitation as she silently turned the knob for a second time. The door creaked open and she sneaked in quietly. He was still sound asleep. Marinette's heart pounded as she looked over his sleeping form. He'd grown; his body had matured into that of a man, and his features were more distinct, but he was still just as perfect as he had been when she'd convinced herself she was in love with him all those years ago. Here he was, Adonis incarnate, only she knew under that beautiful exterior he was in turmoil and it made her heart ache for him.

She bit her lower lip and glanced backwards at the door. He did say she gave the best hugs. With the determination of Ladybug, Marinette scurried up behind him in the bed and wrapped an arm around him. Sure, it was a little awkward, but it warmed her heart to know that she might even be able to sooth his subconscious while he sleeps.

What Marinette hadn't realized was how exhausted she was. It was like her body had been zapped of energy. She quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Alya hadn't seen Marinette for a while. "Nino, where's Marinette?"

"I don't know," he shook his head and shrugged, "I haven't seen her."

"Marinette?" she whispered and headed down the hallway. The bathroom door was open, their bedroom door was open, not in the living room, "Did she leave?"

"No, I don't think so."

Alya smirked as she got to their guest room and gently opened the door. She placed a hand over her chest and sighed, "Awww," as she pulled out her phone and snapped a quick picture of Adrien and Marinette sleeping quietly; Marinette against his back with her arm over his middle.

"You have to see this!" Alya grinned as she held her phone up to Nino, "They're so sweet, aren't they?"

"Oh, man," Nino face palmed and grumbled, "Why did she have to go and do something like that?"

"What?" Alya's face fell, "I thought it was cute."

"It is, Als," he sighed, "It's just--Adrien's going to wake up heartbroken and she's going to be that last nail in his coffin."

Realization hit Alya instantly and she knew he was right. Letting Marinette unintentionally play with Adrien's heart wasn't cool. "I'm sorry, buddy," Alya whined.

"I've been hearing that a lot lately."

Alya growled, "I don't know what you want me to do."

"I want you to fix this."

"I don't know HOW, Nino."

"Okay," Nino took a deep breath and sat down on the couch, "Okay. Okay. Okay."

"Nino...stop saying 'okay.'"

"Okay--SORRY! Um, we need to set them up on a date."

"WHAT!? Marinette doesn't date. She's already married...to her job."

"I KNOW, Alya, but my bro is totally crushing on your girl. Like hot and heavy, no lie."

"I saw it for myself, thanks." Alya glanced down the hallway and narrowed her gaze, "You know, we might be able to pull this off."

"We've tried, Alya. I was being sarcastic."

"Yeah, but we were younger, less mature, back then. We could do this. I'll get Marinette primed for a date. You get Adrien to ask her out. This could work."

Nino shook his head and buried his face in his hands. Alya was great at coming up with plans, sure, but they very rarely worked. Although, at this point, it couldn't get any worse, "Sure, okay. Fine. Let's do it."

"You think this isn't going to work?"

"I think it's completely cray-cray, but we have like ZERO other options so let's do it."

"What do you think is going to happen when they wake up?"

* * *

Adrien groaned and stretched. His body stilled. There was something warm behind him, and across his stomach, that hadn't been there before.

"Wha...?" he said sleepily as he rolled over.

In her sleep, Marinette wrapped her arm tighter around Adrien's middle and pulled her face into his chest with a sleepy hum.

Adrien jerked so violently at seeing her there that she flinched in her sleep.

"Whew...whew...whew," Adrien tried to still his breathing, but the room spun. His heart was instantly pounding in his ears. The girl that had been occupying most of his waking, and sleeping, moments for the past few weeks was lying here, in a bed, wrapped around him in an intimate embrace. Adrien smiled to himself. This was the BEST way he could wake up.

Adrien wriggled a bit to face her and draped his arm over her waist in return. Her face was so close he could feel her light breath on his cheeks. Her porcelain skin glistened in the lamp light with a light dusting of freckles across her nose. He leaned down and placed his forehead against hers as he let his thumb gently rub her lower abdomen for a moment, "You know I'll be happy for you, if you want me to. I just wish you would let me do more than that and be present in your life. Oh, how I've missed you, Marinette."

_Marinette woke up in her bedroom. It had changed. There were blue damask drapes instead of the pink florals. The bedspread matched it. Next to her, a little bassinet sat with a cooing baby. Her baby._

_She leaned over to collect the baby and saw she had her black hair and piercing green eyes. They were vibrant like the first buds of spring. Her first thought was Adrien. Leaning back on the bed, her body came into contact with something, or someone. Her eyes shot open wide as she turned to face a sleeping man in her bed. A man! She leaned over to see who it could be. It wasn't necessary. She could never forget his blonde hair, the shape of his body..._

His green eyes were staring back at her as she woke from her dream. _Adrien._ Marinette gasped gently and smiled, "Hi."

"Hi," he whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Marinette buried her head in his chest and giggled, "Alya and Nino said you were having a rough week. You once said I gave the best hugs. I figured you could use one. I must have fallen asleep."

Adrien chuckled, "This is definitely a...surprise. And you do give the best hugs."

She blushed. _I do NOT have feelings for Adrien. Oh, who am I kidding?_ "This one..."

"Is no exception," his voice dropped and became serious, "I've missed you, Marinette."

She gulped and she tried to calm her beating heart. He'd missed her? Since when? Why? "I've been really busy." In more ways than one. Even though Hawk Moth had effectively disappeared, there was always work to be done.

He nodded, "Thanks for trying to cheer me up, Marinette. I _needed_ this more than you could ever know."

Guilt settled in her stomach as she realized she'd been neglecting her friends; her two favorite boys were in desperate need of some TLC. Her heart ached for this beautiful man and she wanted to cure whatever had hurt him so badly. "I'll always be here for you, Adrien."

"Always?"

"How many friends do you think I have?" she nodded, "Of course, I will."

Adrien smiled like a love-sick puppy. Marinette couldn't place the expression, or why, but grinned in response. She'd said something right. Adrien leaned forward and held her in a tight embrace, "You're the best, Marinette." 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "You either are or you're not."
> 
>  
> 
> Probably going to get a little whiplash, and not going to focus too much on the larger aspects, as details are what I find important.

They were sitting at dinner, four days after their original reveal party had been scheduled. It was just Alya and Marinette. Alya would relay all the information back to Nino and he'd decide what to do with it as far as Adrien was concerned. Alya had to handle Marinette...as far as Adrien was concerned.

"I'm nervous," Marinette admitted while taking a long drawl on her super thick malted milkshake.

Alya rolled her eyes, "You either are or you're not."

"What if I'm not?" Marinette's looked dismal.

"Okay, girl, life is messy. So what if you're not? You have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and try again."

Marinette nodded with a small smile, "Absolutely. Let's do this."

She retrieved the little black phone from her pink clutch. Tikki rubbed her hand gently before removing it. Her constant companionship and reassurance was imperative for Marinette's cheery disposition in the face of adversity. Although, today she felt extremely nervous regardless.

Marinette set the phone in the middle of the table and gulped. "Here goes nothing," and opened the picture file.

In the middle of the phone a photo burst to life with a little pink line and a pink plus. Alya launched out of her seat with a whoop.

"I KNEW IT!!!" she shouted.

Marinette sat staring at the photograph in shock. A single tear rolled down her cheek as her friend ran around the table and threw her arms around her neck.

"I'm so excited for you! Congratulations, mama!"

Marinette grinned meekly, "I'm going to be a mom."

"Damn straight. You'll be the best mom any kid has ever had."

Alya pulled out her phone and texted Nino the good news.

* * *

Adrien had decided to go to the Dupain-Cheng bakery for lunch. He'd been restless the last few days. He couldn't stop thinking about Marinette and the next best thing would be visiting her family. It was like there was this magnetic compulsion to gravitate to where he could feel her presence; even if she wasn't there. The bakery brought back so many memories of their childhood and Marinette. He couldn't smell baked bread without seeing her.

"Good afternoon, Adrien!" Sabine greeted as he walked in the door, "Would you like your usual?"

"Yes, please," he greeted. Perhaps he came here too often, if he had a 'usual,' but he didn't care. It wasn't like he was on any sort of diet anymore. He did model still, on the side anyway, but his late night activities made it nearly impossible to put any weight on.

Sabine approached him with a sandwich he could only guess had been made in anticipation of his arrival, "Here you go, dear."

"How did you know?" he flashed a toothy grin and chuckled.

"You've been in every day this week. I was just assuming you'd be in today."

"What would you have done if I didn't show?"

Sabine glanced to the back of the bakery, "I know of a baker who has a habit of skipping lunch. He'd have been loathed to have to eat yours." Her sarcasm was evident, but she added a wink for good measure.

"I see," Adrien nodded.

He picked up the sandwich and inspected it carefully. They had everything about it down to the last detail. Though the bakery didn't really specialize in deli orders, Sabine and Tom had opted to offer him a special lunch service. Tom often affectionately called him 'silly boy' when he had inquired as to why they'd made this exception for him. Adrien didn't know why.

It was actually an acronym, OSILE, which was Tom code for Oblivious Son In Law, Eventually. Tom had one for Marinette, too, but hers was odd...or the acronym ODD; Oblivious Darling Daughter. Only Sabine was aware of Tom's antics.

"Oh, silly boy!" he called out from the back. Adrien glanced up at Sabine whose eyes were sparkling.

"Enjoy your lunch."

Sabine went back to the cash register to assist with an elderly customer. Her box was stuffed full with jelly cookies. She'd just finished ringing her out when her phone chirped.

"TOM!!" she shrieked.

Tom came running out of the back, covered in flour, "What is it?"

Sabine clasped her hands to her face, tears streaming down her face, "We're going to be grandparents."

Neither of them noticed Adrien's face had gone ashen or that he'd stopped chewing. All of a sudden, he'd lost his appetite entirely. With a quick exit he bolted back to his apartment and dialed the number for the front office. He would NOT be returning to school for the afternoon. He had never been so thankful for it being a Friday in his entire life.

* * *

Adrien's phone chimed at about 2:30. Apparently, Nino had intended on hanging out with him that afternoon and he'd completely forgot he was going to meet him at the school.

Nino: Dude, where are you? The office said you called in for the day.

Adrien sighed and decided not to ignore Nino. That backfired spectacularly the last time.

Adrien: I'm fine, Nino. Just a bug.

Nino: Yeah, sure. I don't believe you.

Adrien: I'm just thinking about some things.

Nino: Okay. Let me know if you want some company. I could bring over a game or something.

Adrien: Thanks, Nino. Probably not tonight.

At that, Adrien groaned and flopped back on his bed. He was in hell. Well, it couldn't get any worse, right? *DING*

"Crap. What now, Nino?" he grumbled. He unlocked his phone to find a message from Nathalie.

Nathalie: Adrien, your father requests your presence at the studio this evening. There is an ensemble that needs some alterations.

Adrien had completely forgotten he'd agreed to that. One of his father's models had quit in a rage the other day. He remembered clearly when because he'd dealt with his particularly nasty akuma; Mannequin. That one zapped people into poses that hey had to hold indefinitely. It was a bit ridiculous.

He took a deep breath, fell back into his grounding exercises for composure, and managed to head towards the studio. His father didn't expect him until 7:00. Gabriel was a very busy man and he liked to do alterations after he'd eaten; something about steadying his hands so he didn't stab his models.

It was 6:45 when the company car honked outside of his apartment.

"I'm COMING!" he shouted to no one in particular and rushed out the door.

* * *

Marinette sat hunched over her desk. Ever since she'd suspected she was pregnant it was like her mind had been in a constant fog. Well, that and it felt like she had a never ending cold. With a little research, she discovered it was called 'rhinitis of pregnancy' and it was something that should go away, eventually. Luckily, her food aversions were rare; coffee and bacon. No problem!

She'd completely lost track of time when she realized it was dark out and Alya had wanted to do some celebratory dinner that night. With a groan, she checked her text messages and saw she'd missed half a dozen of them.

Alya: What do you want to eat tonight? Any cravings?

Alya: I'm going with chicken parm. You still like chicken, right?

Alya: Girl, are you coming home any time soon?

Alya: Mari. Earth to Mari! I'm talking to you. I've tried calling. Text me back.

Alya: Okay, I guess we're going to reschedule. It's way past 6:00.

Marinette glanced at the clock and saw it was 7:30.

Marinette: Sorry, Alya. I got distracted.

She decided she'd make sure the building was locked up and then head out. There was no doubt in her mind she would be the last one out tonight.

* * *

Gabriel leaned over the left pant leg of his son, pinching the fabric and pushing in some pins. The jacket had been marked up with pencils and set over a chair. He would have to let it out some through the shoulders as Adrien was broader than Marcus. The pants would have to be rehemmed. Gabriel had already ripped the hems out, but was now pinning them back up to where the length would fit him just right.

"Adrien, you are built like me. I almost didn't even need you to come in today," Gabriel mumbled around a mouthful of pins. One thing Adrien always found funny was how comfortable his father was with sharp slivers of metal sticking out of his mouth. He always held them so gingerly like it was the most normal thing in the world. Practice had made it effortless and his muscles had become used to the tight hold over the years. Adrien absentmindedly moved his lips around imagining how badly his would be cramping up at this point should he have tried to do it.

Adrien didn't want to come in today. "Are we almost through?"

"Yes. I think I'm finished," he nodded satisfyingly at his handiwork, "Perfect."

It was just Adrien and his father in the studio so he stripped out of the suit and began to redress. There was a sudden gasp in the quiet studio space as he and his father both jerked their attention in the direction. In the open door, Marinette was standing slack-jawed and red faced.

After her frozen moment of horror she quickly turned, "I'm sorry. I thought I was the only one here. I'm locking everything up."

Gabriel chuckled, "Not a problem, Mlle. Dupain-Cheng."

She cleared her throat uncomfortably, "Uh, okay. I guess I'll leave you to lock this one up." With that, she was off. _How embarrassing!?_

By this time, Adrien had thrown his clothes on and chased after her retreating form. "MARINETTE!!" he called after her. He didn't even know what possessed him to chase her. At this point, she was the LAST person in the world he wanted to see, but she was also the ONLY person in the world he wanted to see. If he was an addict, she was his drug. If he was Superman, she was his kryptonite. There was no doubt about it--he was hooked.

Marinette heard someone call her name, knowing who it was, and stopped. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she heard him approach, "Sorry, I thought I was the only one here."

"Nope," he said cheerfully, "My dad had to do some alterations."

"Ah." She still hadn't looked at him. For some reason, these past couple weeks she'd seen him more than she'd seen him in years and it was doing strange things to her 'no dating' resolve. In fact, just seeing him once was enough for her to feel smitten all over again. "Well, I'm going to head home."

"Can I give you a ride?" he asked, "And maybe we could pick up ice cream or something on the way."

Marinette laughed. That was one of the very few things she craved; that and pickles. "Deal."


	7. Chapter 7

Marinette woke up the next morning, happily, and rolled over. Her fluffy duvet slipped off the edge of the bed, but she didn't care. A little giggle escaped her lips and surprised her. Why was she in such a good mood? Then she remembered the night before and how Adrien had given her a ride home. She was really enjoying all this time they got to spend together as of late.

Her mood must have extended to breakfast, because as she walked into the kitchen Alya pointed it out.

"Someone's in a good mood this morning," she smirked.

"Yeah, I am," Marinette nodded and got herself a cup of herbal tea. "I got a ride home last night. YOU were already asleep."

"Look, honey, I woke up early yesterday for a story and I was exhausted. YOU stood me up, by the way."

"I'm sorry," Marinette had the grace to look ashamed, "I was working and got distracted."

"Oh?"

"The strangest thing happened, too. I thought I was the last one there so I went to lock up. As I was securing the rooms I ran into Mr. Agreste and Adrien."

Alya's eyes widened. Marinette didn't catch how her hand clenched around the cup in her hands. "And...?"

"He was there for a late night fitting. I had no idea. I walked in while he was changing, actually," Marinette blushed as she looked away, "I was so embarrassed I ran. Then Adrien flagged me down, offered me a ride home, and got me ice cream on the way. It was nice."

"Oh." Alya tried to hide the whirlwind of emotions swirling through her head by not showing any at all. Instead, Alya was thinking she wanted to slap Adrien in the face for being so masochistic.

"OH!? That's all, Alya? You used to be obsessed with getting Adrien and I to talk and now that we do all you have to say is 'oh?'"

"Well, you're not looking to date right now, are you?" Alya was hopeful that was the case. After all, that was the plan.

Marinette bit the inside of her cheek and lifted her eyes to the ceiling in thought, "I don't know. I didn't really want to."

"So you might make an exception for Adrien." Alya knew what her answer was going to be. It was taking all of her concentration to not shake her legs with her excited energy. This was exactly what Alya wanted to hear. Her body was practically vibrating. The cellphone she always carried was practically burning a whole in her pocket to tell Nino.

"I think so," Marinette nodded, "Although, I'm super busy. I'd hate to do that to him, you know?"

"Girl, I think he'd understand. Do you remember how busy he was in lycee? Hell, do you remember how busy his dad was? I think the man can deal."

Marinette blushed and giggled, "I'm nervous."

Alya threw her head back and laughed, "It's like you're a teenager again!! Girl, that boy must have some mad power over you."

"He does NOT!" Marinette exclaimed, turning to head to the fridge, "He's just occupied a very special place in my heart for a long time. I don't think I've been able to forget that."

When she turned around Alya was staring at her, "You two need to get married and have lots of babies."

Marinette smirked, but then her face dropped, "Does Adrien know I'm pregnant?! What if that ruins it, Alya? He might not want a woman carrying another guy's kid. I didn't think he'd be coming back into my life. I don't regret getting pregnant, but I don't know what I'm going to do."

Alya was trying her hardest not to laugh so she took a sip of coffee and a deep breath, "I think he'll be fine with it. Trust me."

* * *

Nino picked up his phone to see a text from Alya.

Alya: What is Adrien doing? He took Marinette home last night. Is he a masochist or what?

Nino: That would explain the cryptic text last night.

Alya: Cryptic text?

Nino: He said 'ain't life grand.'

Alya: I see. Well, Marinette has a rough month or so of work coming up here. Collections have to get out. I hope he doesn't have his hopes up for a date any time soon.

Nino: Let me take care of him. He'll understand.

* * *

Marinette was sitting in her bath when her phone chimed.

Adrien: What are you doing?

Marinette: Taking a bath. You?

Adrien: Grading.

Marinette: Fun! Not.

Adrien chuckled at that.

Adrien: I'm almost done. How's life?

Marinette: Actually? About to get REALLY busy. Your dad is a machine. I get outpaced and outperformed at every turn.

Adrien smirked to himself.

Adrien: At the fitting the other day he said almost exactly the same thing about you.

Marinette: Really?!

Adrien: Yeah. Don't expect to hear it from him, though.

Marinette: No, I wouldn't dream of it. He's not the type. He likes to praise you to other people, but never to your face.

Adrien: I doubt he does that for me.

Marinette: Are you kidding? You pop up in almost every conversation I have with him. He brags about you at meetings.

Adrien: What?! No way.

Marinette: Yes, way.

Adrien: What does he say?

Marinette: He keeps me up to date on your pursuits. We had coffee to celebrate your graduation from university. He calls you 'magnificent' when you model.

There was a long pause between the two. Marinette wondered if she'd said something wrong.

Adrien: I didn't know that.

Marinette: Yeah, I think he's a softie on the inside. There's just a lot of obstacles to get to it.

Adrien: I need to go have lunch with him sometime soon then.

Marinette: Good luck. Starting tomorrow we're going to design, eat, sleep, and MAYBE pee if there's time.

Adrien laughed hysterically at that description. He knew there was a collection coming out soon, but he wasn't aware it would take that much time. No wonder his dad was disappearing all the time.

Adrien: I'm patient.

Marinette: He's lucky to have you.

Adrien: Good night, Marinette. And thanks.

Marinette: I don't' know what you're thanking me for, but you're welcome. Good night!

* * *

The next day, Marinette entered the office to find her very nervous 'Nathalie' at her desk, nervously wringing her hands together.  Her name was actually Carrie, but she used Nathalie as her example to follow. Carrie wasn't nearly as emotionally distant, but she did try her best to be as professional at work as possible.

"What is it?" she asked, really starting to get nervous. Carrie's nerves were automatically becoming her nerves because of her empathetic nature.

"Um, Mr. Agreste's assistant called in and said he wanted to design coordinating scents this year."

"Okay?" Marinette wasn't sure where she was going with this.

"He wants them to be coordinated with your designs. Since you're doing the formals he wants to meet with you and discuss the perfume and cologne."

"Carrie, you had me nervous there for a minute."

"He's coming here, right now, to pick you up."

Marinette's jaw dropped, "Right now?"

"Yes," Carrie nodded, "To go to the perfumier."

"He and I are collaborating?"

Carrie rolled her eyes, obviously not channeling Nathalie in this instant, "Marinette, that's why I was freaking out. He wants to personally create the new scents WITH you."

"Why me?"

"You are the lead designer," she stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

At about that time, there was a knock on her door and in walked Gabriel Agreste.

"Good morning, Mr. Agreste," Marinette smiled and stood to greet him. Since he'd taken her on as his, dare she think protegee, he'd been like a second father to her. Although, dysfunctional, as he had an odd way of expressing himself, she felt almost like she could read him at a visceral level. They were regularly communicating non-verbally and making company uncomfortable in how they just understood each other; like doing a dance and no one else knew the moves. Though Carrie was intimidated by Mr. Agreste, Marinette was not. She WAS perturbed she'd had such little time to prepare herself for a trip to a perfumier.

Their greetings were very reserved and formal. She would offer her hand and he would squeeze her fingers gently in greeting.

"Morning, Madamoiselle."

"Mr. Agreste," Carrie nodded at him and bowed out of the door. Marinette knew, directly from Carrie's mouth on more than one occasion, that he gave her the creeps. Marinette knew that being misunderstood went a long way. Her lack of a dating life, thanks to said man's son setting an unbelievably high bar, could attest to that. Everyone thought she was an asexual hermit. Even though her crush on Adrien Agreste had simmered, it wasn't completely gone, as was becoming increasingly evident.

Marinette snatched up her briefcase of sketches and followed Mr. Agreste out of the building and to a waiting dark sedan. They were only a few blocks from the perfumier so the drive was short.

"We are here," he announced as he stepped out of the car, walked to the other side, and opened her door. He offered her a hand to help her out, as the proper gentleman that he was, and they walked into the office.

It was more like a chemistry laboratory than what she'd been expecting. She glanced around the room and took note of all the little marked vials. In the corner of the room were a few large pots that looked like they were simmering and a little tube carried drops of fluid from them to more of those little vials. AHA! Distilling the essences. That Marinette could understand. There were also some vats that contained what looked like oil and bits of plants submerged in it.

"Mr. Agreste," A man came out from the back, "I was pleasantly surprised to see you so soon."

"Time waits for no man," Mr. Agreste nodded.

Mr. Lucero, the perfumier, led them to a little desk where she and Gabriel had to hunch themselves around to access. He pulled out a little tray that was filled with test tubes of diffrent colors.

"What can I do for you today?" he asked.

Marinette took the initiative to pull out her sketches. That unspoken cue from Mr. Agreste told her to proceed. "I have these sketches we'd like to develop scents for."

Mr. Lucero smiled, "Of course. Do you want to do some experiments of your own or have me whip things up based on your description of what you want?"

"I was hoping a little bit of both," Marinette said and next to her, Gabriel smiled.

"She is the lead designer," he answered Mr. Lucero's confused look.

Mr. Lucero had been shooting questioning glances at Marinette every time she spoke and he'd expected Gabriel to. Her age had always been a point of contention with associates while working. It seemed no one would take her seriously. Gabriel seemed just as annoyed, it seemed.

"Yes, sir," Mr. Lucero smiled, "This dress." He pointed to a pale, powder pink gown that was adorned in a darker azalea pink sheer, starting at the waist and going down the bell, that split in the front of the skirt. The bodice was gathered in the middle and split at the bust where an azalea pink inner lining made a triangle between the busts. The top had two scallops to give the effect of a sweetheart neckline, but not a true one. The man's eyes sparkled, "What scent were you thinking for this one?"

Marinette screwed up her lips for a minute or two in thought, "I was thinking roses? Or orchids?"

"Roses," Gabriel perked up with a faint quirk of his lips. A man of few words in the company of those who caused him anxiety. It was another thing Marinette had picked up on over the past couple years. He was very often anxious; like he could feel the energies of a room even better than Marinette herself. She found it endearing, although, a bit unnerving at times when tensions were high. He'd almost lose himself entirely in those situations. Marinette was often who they turned to to calm him. The employees at Agreste Fashion affectionately called her 'The Gabriel Whisperer.' Neither she, nor Gabriel, was supposed to know this, but she heard Carrie whisper it a little too loudly when she didn't know Marinette was there, getting herself a cup of coffee, as she often did. Marinette hated making Carrie get her coffee. The entire exchange she'd played ignorant to until later when she jokingly told Carrie that whispering to Gabriel just pissed him off. Carrie about choked on her tongue.

"I agree," Marinette nodded.

"Roses it is!" Mr. Lucero smiled, "That will be your primary line. Secondary? Any ideas?"

"Sandalwood," Marinette smirked. It was playing in the back of her mind as soon as she heard Gabriel say roses. Something earthy to compliment the floral.

"Absolutely," Mr. Lucero agreed, "That would definitely pair well with the rose."

"I was also thinking maybe a little lemon blossom? If that isn't too much?"

His eyes twinkled, "Are you sure you haven't ever made perfume before? That would go wonderfully with your rose and sandalwood."

"Amazing, isn't she?" Mr. Agreste mumbled. By the way his eyes widened and he sat straighter in his chair told Marinette that he hadn't intended on saying that out loud.

She smiled sweetly at him anyway, "Thank you, Mr. Agreste."

He nodded silently and continued to watch Mr. Lucero as he pulled out droppers and went to work.

"I'm using a neutral scented calendula oil for the carrier," he explained. When he was done shaking the bottle, he dropped a few bits to a piece of cloth and waved it in front of their faces for them to get a whiff of the scent.

Marinette moaned, in perhaps an unladylike way, but signifying that she approved. Mr. Agreste closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"Yes, that will do," Marinette nodded, "This isn't so hard, after all."

Mr. Agreste opened his eyes now and Marinette realized his hands were clenched on his knees. They exchanged some nonverbal glances. Hers said 'are you all right' and his said 'a little overwhelmed, but don't want to discuss it.' Marinette gave an infinitesimal nod and turned her full attention to Mr. Lucero.

They went through three more gowns. They each had a floral primary, as Marinette thought there should be a theme. They used flowers that matched the colors of the dresses and the feel of them; the white one was gardenia, the light purple one was freesia, and the yellow one was daffodil. It took a couple tries to get the daffodil one right as the scent was a much more subtle one than the gardenia and freesia. Luckily, they figured out that if they paired it with bergamot it wouldn't be overpowered and still held a pleasant scent that fit the dress.

It was after noon when they were done formulating the women's scents and it was time for lunch.

"Now is the opportune time for a reprieve," Gabriel sighed, standing and stretching his shoulders imperceptibly. He held out a hand to Marinette, which she graciously took.

Mr. Lucero nodded his agreement, "Ah, yes. When would you like to meet back to continue on the men's fragrances?"

"We will be back in an hour," Gabriel nodded and lead Marinette out of the shop.

The black sedan was still sitting there, waiting for them. Marinette wondered if Arthur ever got tired of sitting in it for hours at a time. Although, she knew he had a tablet in the glove compartment and probably spent most of his time playing games or watching movies. Yeah, he was fine.

"Le Soleil du Ciel," Gabriel instructed Arthur.

Marinette hadn't ever eaten at the restaurant before, as she didn't have the time. Money wasn't an issue anymore, normally, but the time factor was extremely tricky to navigate. Truth be told, she'd never been the best at time management what with Ladybug and whatnot. Every so often she'd find herself tripping over herself mentally trying to figure out when she was where and what she was doing when. Lately, with Hawk Moth not being nearly as active, she thought it was as good a time as any to figure out what she wanted out of life and go after it. Instead of time in fancy restaurants she chose having a child. She had yet to inform her employer of this. It was something she did plan to do, but was afraid of how he might react.

As if he was reading her mind, he smirked at her, "Thinking hard over there, Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

"Yes," she bowed her head, "I have been deliberating telling you this for a while. Not too long, though!" she exclaimed. Viewing this as a bandaid, and knowing he appreciated directness, she dove in, "Mr. Agreste, I'm pregnant."

He breathed in deeply through his nose, his face neutral, before he cleared his throat, "I know," was his response.

Marinette jerked her head to look at him, she could almost hear her neck pop, "You what?"

"I know," he nodded, "You turned down coffee."

Mr. Agreste had offered her coffee when she declined, telling Nathalie she much preferred an herbal tea.

Marinette's mouth gaped a second before she snapped it shut with a pop, "I don't know what to say."

She could see he was getting ready to speak in volume by the way he turned to face her and softened, "I may seem out of it, but I assure you, pregnancy is not something someone forgets; especially, if you're the husband. My wife, when she was pregnant with Adrien, spent more days sitting in our bathroom that first month than I care to admit. Her mood swings fuel my nightmares to this day." Marinette laughed softly at that. He noticed and his lips quirked at the edges, "I do not know your circumstance, but I can tell you have been handling it much better in my presence than she did."

"I'll take that as a compliment," she nodded.

"As you should." When he was done with a conversation he turned to face forward again and resumed his rigid posture. Marinette smiled to herself the rest of the way to the restaurant. That had gone much better than planned. Actually, she was pretty sure he'd just made her day.

After a very quick lunch, they arrived back at the perfumier to continue on the male line.

Mr. Lucero sat out a different set of test tubes and vials with more bottles and droppers. He looked like he was getting much more serious for this next round of creation.

The men's scents didn't seem nearly as diverse, as far as Marinette was concerned. She suggested earthy and herbal scents, much to Gabriel's delight, when he heard her throw out words like 'rosemary' and 'patchouli.' Mr. Lucero knew exactly what she was going for, automatically, with each one. This was where Mr. Lucero excelled, ostensibly. During the discussion while he was mixing, Marinette had learned that he was Gabriel's preferred perfumier for his own personal colognes. Mr. Lucero knew his way around men's fragrances and that was apparent. Marinette was ashamed to realize she was mistaken in thinking men's fragrances weren't nearly as diverse. He talked about the craft with such insight that she was floored by the variances that went into the formulation of men's cologne. There were more layers and complexities to them, too.

It had been an additional three hours to get the men's fragrances squared away. Gabriel's eyes were sparkling and Mr. Lucero was giddy. Marinette was completely at a loss for why they were so excited.

"That was not nearly as painful as I'd thought it would be, Marcel," Gabriel nodded to him.

Mr. Lucero chuckled, "Not at all. You two move fast. This was a very productive day. Are you both pleased with the final products?"

Gabriel glanced at Marinette, still a little surprised by their attitudes, she nodded, "I am."

"Dear," Mr. Lucero stared at her, understanding her confusion, "What we did here today is nothing short of extraordinary."

"Pardon?"

"Eight new fragrances, with the depth and thought put into them, each with their very own personality, is rarely accomplished in the course of a day."

Gabriel snorted softly next to her and she gawked at him. She'd never heard him do that before, "Is it?"

"Mr. Agreste sometimes takes a week or more to tweak a fragrance to his liking. You and I have managed to do this in a day," Mr. Lucero leveled a stare at Gabriel, who only gave him a baffled expression. "If you weren't such a talented designer, I think I'd hire you to apprentice me in the shop. You have a nose for this, dear."

Marinette smirked at Gabriel who was giving her a 'I know what you're thinking' look and giggled. That was a benefit of being pregnant, for sure. Her sense of smell was a bit more sensitive these days and today it paid off. Suddenly, it hit her, as they were standing to take their leave. Gabriel hurriedly ushered her out to the sedan with hasty goodbyes to Mr. Lucero.

Marinette turned on him, "YOU KNEW!" she exclaimed, suddenly like she was catching up with a joke that had gone over her head.

Mr. Agreste snorted again and put a finger up under his glasses. She could see he was shaking with silent laughter.

"I can't believe you," she chuckled, "Taking advantage of my sensitive sense of smell because you've done this before. You are a very tricky man, Mr. Agreste."

"It is your collection," he tried to defend himself, before shrugging, "And you are in a very unique position. Are you upset?"

"No," she admitted quickly, "Although, now I feel foolish. You've known all along. You were just waiting for me to tell you." His silent gaze skyward answered that question affirmatively. She smiled, "Thank you. Although, I still feel a bit foolish."

He nodded, "I apologize." It was sincere.

Marinette would have to be much more vigilant around her employer. He was much better at reading her than she had anticipated.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Nino both suspect, but neither one can say anything for certain.

Adrien dropped into the Dupain-Cheng bakery for his lunch. Sabine had decided that if Marinette was too busy to stop by home then they'd adopt Adrien as a secondary child. Not that he was replacing her, per say, as they all agreed she was irreplaceable, he was filling a void they'd like to avoid and put off any type of empty nest syndrome.

"Good afternoon, honey!!" Sabine called and greeted him with a hug and a peck on the cheek, "How are classes going today?"

"Well, I'm teaching biology this semester. I can't say I'm not enjoying it. Although, this week we're talking about reproduction and let's just say I'd rather avoid teaching first years in the future."

Sabine smiled, trying her hardest not to laugh, but little giggles escaped, "Oh, dear, those birds and the bees are never easy to explain to hormonal teenagers."

He blushed, "I remember how uncomfortable it was for me. Who knew kids could change so much in such a short time? They're all so much more mature than we were at that age."

Her eyes twinkled, "No. They were just as mature at that age. You just weren't. No offense, really. Marinette wasn't, either. I do know that quite a few of your classmates were much more mature in their exploratory pursuits than you and my daughter were."

"Ahem, yes, perhaps. I was a bit sheltered at that age; homeschooling and all."

"Some are just later than others. Look at Marinette," she started, "We didn't shelter her, but let her find her own way. There is no shame in being a late bloomer."

Adrien nodded, "Yes, I do have a handful of those. They all cluster together." He laughed out loud, "They're us! Nino, Alya, Marinette, and I when we were in school."

"Yes, you four were inseparable those days," Sabine nodded in reminisce. "Marinette gets nostalgic about it often."

"She does?"

"Oh, heavens yes. You were her first beau, you know," she smiled.

"We weren't really an item," he slipped a finger under his collar.

"You were to Marinette," Sabine's smile faltered a second.

"I didn't know she felt that way."

"Water under the bridge," she sighed.

Adrien frowned at that. He couldn't agree with Sabine. It wasn't 'water under the bridge' when just because it wasn't their current circumstance. What this meant is that Adrien had been oblivious to Marinette's affections. Well, not entirely oblivious, but oblivious to the intensity of said affections. In fact, he would bet his obsession with Ladybug at the time as the reason as to WHY he had been blind-sided by this flippant gloss job of what he'd meant to Marinette. It was news to him and it sat like a rock in the pit of his stomach. Just knowing that he'd have had a shot with her, a real honest-to-goodness shot at becoming something with Marinette, made him want to go out and jump in the Seine. It was a missed opportunity. Look at how much time and heartache could have been avoided. Look at how much more work he would have to put in to remedy his past mistakes. He was trying, lord knows he'd been trying, but Marinette's hectic work schedule was really putting a crimp on his abilities at this point.

It had been a week since Adrien had seen Marinette. He drove her home after she'd had a late day at the office. His father and he had gone out to lunch once in as much time, but it was purely formality at that point for Gabriel to make an appearance with his son once in a while now that he was back in Paris. At least, that's how Adrien had taken it until his conversation via-text with Marinette. This last visit had been much more conversational between he and his father. His dad was still aloof, but Adrien was learning how to read through his dry exterior and infer as to the meaning of what his father actually said. He'd contemplated bringing Nathalie as a translator because no one spoke Gabriel as fluently as that woman. It was something Adrien could never understand. They had communications between each other that even Marinette had trouble understanding and they called her the Gabriel Whisperer. Nathalie took an extra step in that she was borderline telepathic. Adrien figured it was their commonalities in life; demeanor, strictness, priorities, etc.

Adrien sighed, "Ah, yes, but the water will wash out a bridge should it rise too high." Sabine smirked at that. Of course it could.

"Marinette is stopping here on Friday evening for supper. Would you like to join us? It would be like old times to have our kids under the same roof again."

"Sure. That would be wonderful! Thank you, Sabine," he smiled. He'd been itching to find a way to see Marinette. It really had been too long. Friday. That was four days away. She's worth the wait.

* * *

Alya glared over at Nino, "Did you know that Adrien drove her home and bought her ice cream?"

"That was like two weeks ago, and yes, you might have mentioned it a dozen times."

The magazine in her hand trembled. Nino had seen her flipping through pages, not actually reading anything. The way she chewed on the side of her lip, her eyes flicked around nervously, and she let out nasally grunts periodically let him know she was just itching to discuss something she had no business discussing.

"Yes?" Nino prompted. He was playing a video game where you and your opponents build towers and take turns trying to knock the other person's tower down. Nino had been saving up most of his loot for upgraded weapons while his opponent opted for better building materials. He hadn't really been paying attention to Alya's plight.

"Is he just TRYING to hurt himself? I mean, if I were Adrien, horribly torn up about the entire situation, I don't think I'd be trying to stay close to that situation without some sort of backup or a game plan. He just offered OUT OF THE BLUE!!"

"And...?" Nino jerked sideways as one of the opponent's trebuchets launched a large boulder towards his front tower.

"AND!? There was no plan, Nino. We were supposed to talk them into going out on a date or something. I did my part. Marinette practically talked herself into the whole thing. That idea was on track. I was headed for big money. What did you do? Nothing."

"Adrien asked her out for ice cream," Nino grumbled, "GAH!!!" he screamed as his tower crumpled, "God damn it! This guy is getting on my nerves."

"Are you listening? Ice cream is not what I'd consider a date, yo. I mean, if we were in lycee, maybe, but now? As adults?"

"Adrien teaches high school. Maybe he's hard up for material? Or going back to the basics? I think it's cute."

Alya groaned exasperatedly, "You're no help. Our friends are dancing circles around each other and you're more interested in knocking down virtual buildings. Lord. Tearing down walls in real life is a whole lot more interesting, believe me. I wish you could see that. I need help, Nino. I'm ready to see this happen and I want them to be walking down the aisle."

"What about us, honey bunny?"

"Don't honey bunny me. I've been trying to discuss this confusing business, concerning our dearest friends, for the past ten minutes and you're more interested in a stinking game."

Nino pushed pause and turned to face her, "Alya, babe, I think they're working it out on their own. I know I agreed to the whole setting them up on a date thing. Hell, it was my idea. I just think, they've been doing a lot of it on their own and it might be more satisfying if we just let them do it naturally...without us."

Alya's jaw dropped and her eyes misted. It was something Nino had expected. He crawled up to the couch and wrapped his arms around his nearly crying fiance.

"Your baby girl is growing up. She's a successful business woman now. I think you need to let her spread her wings and do this on her own, mama bird."

Alya nodded, "I just missed that chance all those years ago, you know? Nino, I think we could have had little mini-Marians and Adrinettes by now if we had told Adrien that Marinette was in love with him. I don't think he knew. I mean, I know he didn't know. He told me so. Her assumption of being more, to him, was just being good friends. The lines were crossed and we never righted them. Just think of how different everything could have been." Her lip quivered and Nino chuckled.

"You really are a mama bird, babe," he shook his head, "It's time to take a step back and let them figure it out."

She nodded, "Okay."

"Promise?" he asked in a warning tone.

She huffed, "Yeah, all right, I promise. No more meddling. I can't say I won't be watching, but no more meddling. Honest."

* * *

"I need another pair of denim flats!!" Marinette shouted, "Quickly!"

There were two interns digging through the rack of clothes to pull out the pieces she'd marked down.

"Ensembles don't arrange themselves, you know," she called with a raised eyebrow.

The interns came up with arms full of items and kept holding them up, one after the other, alternating for Marinette. Mari would pick the ones she wanted and they'd set up the shoot.

"Okay, the photographer should be here in about ten minutes. I want hair and make-up for team one done by then. Snap snap, people."

"Mlle. Dupain-Cheng!" a girl called, "We can't find the box of silk stockings."

Marinette paled. Oh, crap. She'd dropped by Adrien's office the other day to see if he wanted to go to lunch on one of the only free days she had. He wasn't there. She put the box down on his desk to write him a note and left it there by mistake."

"SHIT!" she cursed irreverently, "I'll make a quick call. Someone be on standby to make a run, though. One minute."

It was 4:15. Adrien should be done by now, right? She quickly dialed his phone number. Nothing.

"Crap, crap, CRAP!!" she groaned and pulled up the school's web page. She quickly found his office phone number. "Pick up, pick up..."

"Hello, Mr. Agreste speaking."

"Adrien, thank God!" Marinette exclaimed, "Um, you remember the other day when I dropped by to have lunch?"

"When you left the note?"

"Yes! Um, do you remember if I left a box there by any chance?"

"You did. It was a tub with hosiery." He smirked wondering why she had them in the first place. He assumed it was the same reason she was near the school and that was picking them up after being delivered.

"Yes, yes, yes," she danced a little happy dance, "Is there ANY way I could BEG you to bring those stockings? I really need them for the shoot we're setting up as we speak. It starts in like seven minutes."

"I'm on my way."

"Thank you SOOO much! I have no idea how I am going repay you."

"We'll work something out," he chuckled, "See you in a bit."

"See ya!"

* * *

It took Adrien at total of ten minutes to retrieve the box from his office and get over to the studio. Marinette was waiting impatiently at the door. Her face split into an excited grin as Adrien approached, running as quickly as his legs could carry him while holding the tub.

"I got here as fast as I could," he panted, handing her the box.

"You are a GOD SEND!!" she grabbed the box from his hands and instantly passed it off to an assistant. Wrapped up in the whirlwind of anxiety she turned, grabbed his head in her hands, and planted a kiss on his cheek, "I really owe you one. You name it--anything." She breathlessly rushed off to finish inspecting all the clothes and how they fit.

Adrien leaned against the door frame. It was as if he and Marinette were in slow motion while the rest of the world sped at a rapid pace. His eyes glossed over as he watched her work. A dopey, love-struck smile adorned his face as a hand glided over the cheek she'd kissed. Adrien had officially hit cloud nine. Who knew bringing a box of silk stockings to her would win him a highly prized kiss. Oh, and she owed him one. One what? 'Anything?' He'd have to think of what that might entail. Anything... He wondered if 'anything' carried over into allowing him to be in his kid's life. That would be pushing it too far, though, wouldn't it? What about a date? A real one. He could earn the father role. Would she be amenable to that? _No hurry._ He'd have to wait and mull things over.

He didn't know how long he had been standing there lazily watching Marinette command the space. Someone came up in front of him.

"--este? Mr. Agreste?! Adrien!" she shouted.

"Wha-what?!" he shook his head and glanced over at Carrie, Marinette's assistant.

"Are you one of the models for today's shoot?"

"No!" he exclaimed. He didn't model regularly anymore. There were exceptions he'd make for his father, when needed, but otherwise...no.

"Crap!" she exhaled, "I'm down a pair. Well, was down a pair."

"I'm coming!" Marinette shouted.

Adrien glanced over to see her running over to the changing area and began stripping behind the screen. He saw her arms above her head as someone dropped a dress over her form.

"Is Marinette...?"

"She's filling in for one," Carrie nodded, "She'll be a little short, but the clothes are in her size so it shouldn't be a big deal." Carrie waved her hand flippantly as if it was of no consequence. "Now I just have to find her a male." Carrie sighed heavily and buried her eyes in her hand. "This is a nightmare."

"I'll do it," Adrien said, already taking off his jacket and slipping off his shoes.

"YOU WILL?!?!?!" Carrie's excitement could not be contained. It was bubbling out of her in excited squeals and shrieks, "Thank you, Mr. Agreste!"

"Mr. Agreste is my father. I'm Adrien," he smirked.

"MARINETTE!" she shouted. Her voice carried over the chaos and Adrien tweaked his now ringing ear. "I found you a man!"

"Send him back!" Marinette called.

"Are you decent?"

"Enough," she sighed exasperated.

Adrien stepped behind the changing screen and smirked at Marinette. She was wearing a casual dress, but her zipper was still undone. The dressers that had been with her were now with other people.

"Help?" she called over her shoulder to the form she could feel behind her. She had yet to turn around and face him and therefore had no idea who was standing behind her. He obliged and gingerly pulled on the zipper pull. It closed effortlessly with a buzz.

"Like a glove," he cooed in her ear.

Marinette whipped around and smiled, "Adrien! You're still here."

"I'm your model!" he smirked, holding his arms open as if he were presenting himself to her for inspection.

"I am not worthy," she groaned and giggled, "Your father is going to think we're sleeping together. You know that, right?"

"Whaaa? Why?"

She rolled her eyes, "Let's just say he's been rather perceptive lately. Though he hasn't been wrong, yet, I can't say he won't be in the future. Nothing gets past him. Nothing."

"I doubt that," he smirked.

"He knew I was pregnant," she leveled him a raised eyebrow stare, "On his own."

"You never told me you were pregnant." But he knew.

"Didn't I?" She bit her lip, "For some reason I thought you knew."

He was trying to soothe the ache in his chest, but it just wouldn't quell. She had forgotten to tell him. That hurt.

"I'm sorry, Adrien," she could tell he was upset being out of the loop. She reached forward and grabbed his hands, "You're one of my best friends. Of course I was going to tell you...when I was ready for your dad to know. God, and he just KNEW!"

Adrien felt his heart flutter back to a pleasant rhythm as she said 'best friends' and explained her hesitation. It wasn't anything against him. "Congratulations!" Then he tried in vain hide his chuckle, "Were you acting pregnant?"

"NO!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. Adrien mourned her touch instantly. "I wasn't. Thank you, very much."

"Sorry, Mari, but I couldn't resist."

"Okay, yeah, yeah. Now strip. We have to get you dressed, ASAP."

"Geez!" he exclaimed, "You could at least let me buy you dinner first."

Marinette blushed scarlet at the implication and sighed, "You're killing me, Agreste. You're god damn KILLING me!" She was shaking her head as she left to retrieve clothes for him for the shoot. Thankfully, their models were all pretty close in size and shape. Adrien had always been the standard. Marinette had never been so thankful. When she returned, he was standing there in a white t-shirt, his boxer-briefs, and a pair of socks. His right hand was grasping his left elbow and his cheeks were tinged a shy pink.

"No need to be shy, Adrien," Marinette looked away from him shyly herself, "You have no reason to be embarrassed."

"I'm not embarrassed," he started, "I just feel...exposed."

Marinette nodded, "I understand. Here, you can't wear this." She pulled on his white cotton t-shirt and stopped as she realized she was just exposing him further. "Or you can take it off if you want."

Adrien chuckled, "Okay." He slipped his fingers under the hem and lifted it effortlessly over his head. Marinette's breath hitched as her eyes roved over the contours of his body. He could feel her eyes on him as he held his breath. Finally, he said, "See something you like?" He'd never been more self-conscious in his life.

"I'm not going to lie. You are very easy on the eyes," she chuckled and slipped an athletic shirt over his head. Adrien shivered as her fingers grazed his skin. She assumed it tickled and grinned, "I am just as vulnerable to your physique as any other woman."

"I've heard for some women I'm not their type," he snorted.

"Fine, yes, I find you attractive! Is that what you want to hear?" she huffed, "Now get dressed. We have to be out in five. The first pair is done and we haven't even made it to make-up yet."

He didn't bother to speak. Marinette found him attractive. That dumb smile was back on his face and he didn't care who saw it.

It took about thirty more minutes after they were done with hair and make-up before it was their turn.

"What are these shots for?" he asked.

"Pitches," she smirked, "One of my designers is pitching a line next week."

Adrien smirked, "So you missed the active side of things, huh?"

"Heavens yes," she sighed, "I have been sketching like crazy, development and design, editing works, but I kind of skipped the whole studio time stage. I can't understand the employees if I don't understand their job, right?"

Adrien saw through her excuse, but she made a dang fine point. "I do."

Marcello hopped up in front of them and smiled, "Mlle Dupain-Cheng, you are gracing us with your presence and doing us the honor of modeling? This is my lucky day, indeed. Oooh, and getting better! Young Master Agreste, you are to model as well?" Adrien nodded and Marcello swooned, "I can not believe it."

"Marcello," Marinette warned with an impatient tapping of her foot.

"Ah, yes, to the shoot," he smiled. "You two are doing the casual." He picked up his clipboard and smiled mischievously, "Newlywed Glow. Ah. Yes."

Adrien glanced at Marinette who was internally panicking, "Wait, no, that wasn't it. We were supposed to be doing the university shots."

Marcello clicked his tongue and shook his head, "No, I'm sorry, Mlle, but I already did that shoot. The forms were stuck together and I must have gone out of order. I do apologize."

"But the outfits..." her face paled.

Carrie was at her side, "They work for both. Remember? We discussed their interchangeability."

Marinette looked at Adrien nervously, "Adrien, are you comfortable with this? Because if you aren't I'm sure I could work something out."

"I'm fine," he gulped and nodded.

"You're sure? Because it's okay if you're not. Stephanie and Trey are used to working together intimately."

Adrien's demeanor turned on a dime as he turned on the charm and sauntered up to her, "You don't think we could work together intimately, Marinette?" He gently slid his pink down the side of her cheek and smiled, "Because I'm up for the challenge if you are."

Marinette closed her eyes momentarily and nodded. "Okay, Marcello, let's do this."

"Magnifique!!!" Marcello exclaimed. He gestured for Marinette to follow him to the day bed they had set up in the corner of a well lit set. There were large pillows around the outside and around the back. It made a little semicircle where Marcello had guided them. "Adrien, you here."

Adrien sat in the middle of the bed and Marcello pulled the loafers off of his feet. Shoes were inappropriate for this shoot entirely. Then Marcello gingerly took Marinette's hands and guided her to sit in the cradle of Adrien's arms. He positioned her where their hips were touching and her knees leaned over the top of his legs. His arm was then draped around her shoulders and his other hand placed on her outer thigh.

"I need you to pretend you are deeply and madly in love," Marcello cheered, "Come on, you two. Marinette, lay your head on his shoulder and look into his eyes. Adrien, gaze on her fondly." Adrien was already gazing at her fondly, but Marcello decided to instruct him on it anyway. One of Marinette's arms naturally wrapped around behind Adrien's back and the other gently settled across his abdomen; he broke into goosebumps. "WONDERFUL!!" Marcello began snapping pictures.

"I could get used to this," Adrien smiled softly and sighed.

Marinette nodded, "It would be nice after a long day at work."

"I'm always available after school!" Adrien chuckled.

"Okay," Marcello called, "I want you two close the gap. Kiss, nuzzle, whatever comes naturally. I'll take the photos while you adore each other."

Marinette took a deep breath. Her heart shouldn't be pounding like it was up out of her chest and into her throat. The way Adrien was gazing into her eyes, and his arms gently tightened around her, made her breath hitch. It all felt so real and all of a sudden the room was shifting. Adrien kissed the end of her nose and nuzzled it. Marcello was gleefully squealing as he snapped picture after picture, but Marinette's world was still spinning.

The next thing Marinette knew was she woke up in Adrien's arms on the set of the shoot. They were still lying on the bed and he held her against him. He was looking at her worriedly.

"Marinette? Are you okay?" she glanced around and saw Marcello had gone, "I had Marcello go get you some water."

She groaned, "I'm sorry. I don't know what's come over me."

"You passed out. Have you eaten recently?"

"I don't know," she rubbed her forehead, "I just felt dizzy."

"Well, you're not driving home today," he frowned, "I'll take you there."

She leaned her head back against his shoulder and sighed, "Where have you been all my life?"

He chuckled, "Uh, being pretty dumb, obviously."

"Huh?" she was confused.

"Just think! All that time I wasn't sitting in class or working for my father I could have been hanging out with you."

She laughed through her nose, "Yeah, cause I am SO much fun."

"Hey, I didn't have anything better to do," he shrugged, "I spent a lot of time sitting in my room reading." Versailles wasn't that exciting.

"You didn't go out?" Marinette looked at him incredulously.

"Look, Mari, I don't know how much of my childhood you were aware of, but I'm not very adept with social situations and am quite familiar with solitude."

"I see," she nodded, "You should have called or something. I'd have hung out with you. We could have played video games or something."

"Yeah. That would have been nice. I was really busy studying and working, though, too."

Marinette didn't want to ask, but she did want to ask, "So you didn't have anyone for the last three years?" She knew that the first year they were in college they were all close, but drifted as their work loads got heavier. Marinette's apprenticeship skyrocketed.

He stared at her, trying to get a read on the question, when it clicked. She was asking if he'd ever been serious with anyone. The only steady relationship with any girl was Ladybug, but she wasn't really interested in him that way. They still saw each other periodically, but with Hawk Moth no longer releasing akumas they didn't really see as much of each other as they used to. "Not really," he shrugged, "I hung out with Nino from time to time. I went on a few dates, but they all crashed and burned. It's all my fault. I'm rather awkward."

"You're not AWKWARD!" she exclaimed, "No more awkward than I am."

"Oh? And how many serious relationships have you had, Miss Dupain-Cheng?"

Marinette bit her lip, "Serious? Uh, none, really. I mean, I had one guy I dated multiple times, but he was just too aggressive. He wasn't dating me for me."

Adrien frowned. She'd had more success than he had. "He didn't...?"

"NO!" she exclaimed, "No. I called it all off before it got out of hand."

He let out a sigh of relief, but his eyebrows were still furrowed, "Asshole."

"He was," she giggled, "I'm a little gun shy now, though. He was the most recent one. I think a lot of it was my position, maybe, that he was attracted to."

"Ha!" Adrien exclaimed, "Among other things."

"Oh?" Marinette leveled a glare his direction, "Do tell."

"Other than your adorable freckles, beautiful aquamarine eyes, the curves of your--," he was giving her that look that made her dizzy earlier. He was leaning in towards her.

"Adrien?"

"Yes?" They were both breathless and he didn't move.

Then, Marcello came in with a flair. Adrien pulled away with an internal groan. He reprimanded himself because he knew he'd been very close to kissing Marinette and that wouldn't do him any favors.

"Marinette! You are all right. I have a water for you, dear. I'm sorry the lights are so hot. Only a few more shots and we'll be done for the day."

"I'm fine," she lied, and glanced over to Adrien. He assumed it was her pregnancy, which it could have been partially, but she knew it was him. Although, she wasn't so sure the swooning wasn't worse given her current situation. They could both be right. Right?


	9. Chapter 9

Marinette ran through the studio at breakneck speeds in an attempt to catch Gabriel before he headed out to the Chanel Expo. There were a couple sketches she'd hoped to get into his hand before he got on the plane.

"Sir!" she came running towards him. Gabriel's eyes widened in surprise as she came barrelling towards him. It only took her a couple second to realize she wouldn't be able to slow down without crashing spectacularly. _Oh shit._ Luckily, for her, Mr. Agreste was also aware of this and reached out to catch her just under the arms as she came skidding to a halt. "Thank you, sorry, thank you, sorry," she muttered shyly, "I was just hoping to catch you before you left."

A hint of amusement flickered beneath Gabriel's stony exterior, "What is it you need, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?"

"I have these sketches for you," she sighed, "I just finished them."

"They are _yours,_ " an eyebrow rose into his hairline as he glanced down at the portfolio in his hands. Marinette was in more of a supervisory position these days in the company, but was still encouraged to provide input should she feel compelled to. Gabriel was a little surprised as to why _this_ was the time she felt the desire to submit works to him. That was until he flicked through a couple designs and his eyes shot back up to meet hers, "These are..."

"Yes," she nodded, smirking. They were drawings done from a book she'd found in his library. Gabriel's wife had written fairy tales for his son when Adrien was a toddler. In them, she'd described the details of the attire of the characters. Gabriel had never thought to put the designs to paper, visually, before. Although, now looking in his hands, that's exactly what Marinette had done. Gabriel had given her the book to ask her motherly input on perhaps looking to get it published. Marinette loved the stories and thought 'yes, get it published' before deciding she wanted to draw some illustrations. That led her to sketching the wardrobes and the rest was history.

Gabriel's eyes misted over. Marinette immediately, inwardly, chastised herself for causing her stoic employer to get emotional. Luckily, there was no one else there to see it, but this close proximity didn't make her feel any less guilty. What she hadn't expected, was him to throw his arms around her shoulders in an embrace. It was quick and he placed a chaste kiss to the top of her head. Without another word, he tucked the portfolio underneath his arm and climbed into the waiting sedan.

"I think he liked them!" Tikki hummed next to her ear.

"Yeah," Marinette mumbled as she stared after the retreating car, dumbfounded. That had been quite the reaction. It had been more emotion than she'd anticipated, actually. "I think he did."

* * *

Alya called Marinette, after she'd gotten off work, to ask if the crib had been delivered to her apartment.

"I don't have time to assemble it yet, Alya," Marinette lamented, "It is here."

"Marinette, girl, you've been putting off buying baby stuff for a month."

"I'm not putting it off. I just don't have any time. We have shows and releases and all kinds of things going on right now."

"You are done with the collections," Alya whined, "And we still haven't celebrated the success!"

"It isn't like I can actually participate in the celebratory libations, anyway," she snorted.

"Don't be selfish, Mari, it's not like you," Alya chuckled, "Fine. No party. What are you doing now? You've been hard to get a hold of for three months now."

"I don't know," Marinette sighed. Her hands wandered down to her abdomen which was clearly swollen in the fifth month of her pregnancy.

"If you don't have time to date, which you don't, what makes you think you'll have time for your baby?" Alya hadn't meant to voice it out loud, but she knew she had by the sharp intake of breath on the other end of the line, "Shit! I'm sorry, Mari. I'm just...frustrated, you know? I miss you."

Marinette was silent. A tear dripped down her cheek and she wiped it furiously away. Even if Alya couldn't see it, she didn't want her to hear it in her voice, "I'm just busy. I'll make time for my baby."

"I'll hold you to it, girl," Alya said playfully. She sat at the table in the coffee shop with her phone pressed to her ear. The frustraton was radiating off of her. She and Nino's wedding was fast approaching and Marinette had been way more busy than she'd hoped. At night, when she came home, Alya was already in bed. Alya worked super early hours while Marinette worked late into the night. They rarely saw each other even though they shared a house. It was getting lonely and Alya contemplated moving back in with Nino. "Adrien asked about you yesterday," she mentioned, "I think he misses you as much as I do."

"Yeah, he called the other day. I was out, but Carrie told me. I haven't gotten back to him yet."

"Girl, I think he wants to get to know you better, if you know what I mean," Alya gave her the 'hint-hint, nudge-nudge' tone.

"I don't have time," Marinette groaned.

"He is used to it," Alya chucked, "I'm just letting you know that if you ever want, you know, help setting up that crib or someone to hang out with at odd hours--he's your guy."

"Thanks, Alya."

"I've got to get back to work," Alya grumbled. Alya was on assignment in New York for a week so it was early afternoon there. "Bye! Love ya!"

"Love you, too. Talk to you tomorrow."

Marinette sat on her floor, completely intimidated by the cardboard box that was laughing at her menacingly. This was when she wished she could drink wine. Instead, she thought about what Alya had said. It was nine o'clock on a Friday. Would he be willing to help her put together this dumb contraption? Marinette knew she couldn't do it herself. The instructions were sprawled across the floor in front of her and it might as well be in greek.

**Marinette: Would you be able to come over?**

The message was 'read' almost instantly and then there were ellipses to indicate he was typing a response.

**Adrien: When?**

**Marinette: Now.**

**Adrien: On my way. :)**

She let out a sigh of relief. There would be someone mechanically capable to help her assemble this crazy thing. Him being entirely too attractive for his own good was just an added bonus. Marinette strolled into her kitchen happily humming to herself. Marinette didn't notice it, but Adrien always had that effect on her. When she'd talk to or visit him she'd end up humming afterwards. It was just a habit. No one had noticed, but she still did it anyway.

Marinette had a bite of ice cream half way to her mouth when there was a knock on her door. She hopped up off the couch to open it.

"ADRIEN!" she exclaimed, opening the door to let him in, "Come on in. You're just the man I wanted to see."

He glanced down at the bowl of ice cream in her hands and chuckled, "Could it be any more obvious you're pregnant?" He leaned forward with his mouth open. Marinette shoved a spoonful of ice cream into it and chuckled. He held up a shopping bag that held a carton of ice cream. He mumbled through the cold dairy, "Great minds think alike."

"Oh, GOD! I love you!" she exclaimed grabbing the bag from his hand and rushing to put it in her fridge. She didn't notice his cheeks tinge pink at her exclamation. "I JUST finished off the last of my ice cream and I couldn't think of a time I might be able to get back to the store. I work all day. Alya is out of the country. I'm lucky I'm not starving already."

"I could do some grocery shopping for you if you need it, Mari," he suggested, watching her shove it into an almost empty freezer.

She glanced down bashfully, "I'm not actually starving, Adrien. I can go shopping on Saturday." Then all of a sudden she hunched over herself and her eyes widened in shock.

"What's wrong?" Adrien was instantly on his feet and around the bar. He wrapped an arm around her back and grabbed her wrist, "Are you all right?"

"It kicked!" Her breath was full of awe and breathy, "A real one. Not a flutter. That was a real kick." Her eyes widened again, "Holy shit! It did it again."

Adrien could feel tears pricking at his eyes, but swallowed them back. He stood next to her a moment before asking, "Can I feel it?"

Marinette glanced at him and smiled, "YES! I've been waiting for kicks. Come on." She grabbed his hand and lead him to the couch, "Don't tell Alya, though. She'd kill me if she ever found out you got to feel it first."

"Mum's the word," he smirked. Adrien was suddenly shaking nervously, breath coming in shallow, as she laid on the couch and lifted her shirt to expose her white, rotund belly. He just stared in awe, unable to breathe. Marinette took pity on him and grabbed his hand. She placed it gently over her abdomen just below her navel. He knelt against the couch, completely still, feeling desperately for any sigh of a baby when suddenly there it was. His eyes widened and his mouth popped open with a gasp. "Mari..." her name came out of his mouth on a reverent whisper.

"Can you feel it?" He nodded silently. A tear dripped down his face and Marinette reached up to wipe it away, "Aww," she sat up and wrapped her arms around him, "You're such a softie, Adrien. It's sweet."

"A baby," he whispered, "I felt the baby."

"Yeah," she leaned back to see his overwhelmed expression, "That's why you're here, the baby. I needed your help."

He snapped out of the moment, lucid, "What do you need help with?"

"Putting the dang crib together. I've had it for three days and everything looks too complicated to do alone." She cringed, "And Alya is out of town...not that she'd be any help."

"Oh," he smiled, "I can help. I'd love to."

He stood up and helped her off the couch and dumped the box of crib parts onto the carpet. The crib pieces were all accounted for and the instructions looked pretty straight forward to him. This would be easy.

They settled on the floor, their legs sprawled out, and Marinette giggled, "Did you ever imagine us assembling a crib together in our lycee days?" Adrien frowned and stared at her. Marinette's giggle tapered into a nervous silence. "I just thought...nevermind."

"I hadn't really thought about it ever," he shrugged.

Marinette's eyes widened incredulously, "Never? Like not EVER?"

"That's usually what never means," he snorted.

"You weren't planning on ever having kids?" Marinette was launched into an internal freak out. Adrien didn't want children. Not ever. She was pregnant and _going_ to have a child in the very near future. Well, there goes that possibility. She hadn't really entertained the idea of anything progressing with Adrien, at least not again since lycee, until they started visiting with each other more. Over the past couple months she'd thought that it might happen, someday. Now, she was sure that had only been wishful thinking.

"I don't know." He squirmed uncomfortably, "I never thought I had the option, I guess. Then I went to university and I was so awkward..." Adrien was suddenly mortified at his mumbling aloud. Had he just said he was awkward? She could obviously see that for herself, now.

"You? Awkward? You keep saying that! Adrien Agreste, you are anything, but awkward."

"Not around you!" he exclaimed with a grin, "and that took YEARS!"

She smiled sweetly at him and placed a hand on his shin. The warmth about burned a hole through his pants.

"Well, to be honest, I was pretty awkward around you," she smirked, "So I understand."

"Yeah, what was up with that?" He knew exactly what was up with that, but he still wanted to hear it 'out of the horse's mouth' so to speak.

"Uh," she twirled her hair around her index finger, "I may have been seriously, irrevocably interested in you back in the day."

"And now...?"

Her face blushed being put on the spot like this, "I am NOT going to entertain your--whatever this is." Her hands gesticulated wildly at him, "What about you, huh? Did you ever have a crush on anyone in your life? Besides Ladybug, obviously. We all knew about your obsession there." She internally cringed at how she could have had him back in the day if she'd just had the guts to reveal herself to him. Ah, well...

"I didn't used to," he started, then glanced up at Marinette shyly.

"Past tense?"

He ran a hand nervously through his hair and let a nervous huff force itself through his lips, "Yeah. I kind of do now."

Marinette was happy for him. She really was. Sure, she wasn't his type now that she was going to have a baby and all, but she was going to be supportive, damn it. He deserved someone to love him. Adrien was perhaps the best person, with a Y chromosome, that she knew. "Well, why aren't you chasing her instead of hanging out with me?" she blurted, "I'm sure she'd love you. You're quite the catch."

The blush that erupted over his cheeks made Marinette immediately regret her flirty undertones. _Dang it, Marinette, now you've gone and made him nervous._ Sigh.

"I kind of am," he averted his eyes and went back to assembling the crib in earnest.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I haven't really been present in your life the last few months to know what you've been up to. I'm just really busy. I'm suck at this friend stuff these days. Alya does enough reminding for the both of you," she grumbled. "I'll mind my own business."

Adrien didn't even know what to say. "It's not your fault," he smiled. They assembled the crib more in silence before Marinette scooted on her knees to sit next to Adrien. He felt her presence mind-frazzlingly close.

"So...what about now?" she whispered.

"Whaaa? Huh?"

"What about now? Do you see yourself wanting to have a family someday?"

Adrien glanced at her before going back to the crib. A flash of images, dreams of his future, flashed through his head. He'd never thought about having kids, truthfully. He'd never really put any serious thought into settling down with anyone ever. His emotionally stunted upbringing allowed for the seed of doubt to be planted in his head. Through the years he'd become accustomed to people being attracted to his physical features, his father's money, and his social status that he'd pretty much given up home on anyone wanting him. It was only recently that he'd become reacquainted with a person who did know him and did like him. Marinette. She had had a crush on him, something he'd only learned recently, and he was sure she knew plenty enough to NOT be interested in him, the real him, if she didn't actually like him. That realization had his heart soaring and she'd been featuring in all of his wildest imaginings.

Like now, he was looking at this crib. Instantly, he saw Marinette holding his child. Then him rocking the warm bundle before depositing the baby in this very crib. He smiled dreaming about late night feedings, blown out diapers, coos and babbles, lingering smells of baby, a sleep deprived Marinette curled into his side while their baby snuggled against his bare chest for skin-to-skin contact. He was floating on cloud nine just thinking about the potential his future could hold if only they'd take a chance on each other. She didn't even know the baby growing inside of her was his. _Don't cry, Adrien. Do not cry._

"I do," he gulped.

"Oh? What made you change your mind?" Marinette was doing a happy dance internally. Maybe there was a chance, after all.

He shrugged, "Knowing there might be a girl out there that could like me, all of me." He didn't mean for it to sound so forward, but he really didn't have any other way to say it. There was no need to beat around the bush. He didn't have TIME to.

"Adrien," her hushed voice drew his eyes to her intense blues, "Anyone that couldn't is an idiot."

"Marinette, would it be too untoward to ask you on date?"

She blinked. Once. Twice. Three times. The silence was too much for them both. Adrien had started to shake his head, poised to apologize, turning away from her bashfully, when Marinette palmed his cheek to turn his face towards her, "I would love nothing more than to go on a date with you."

A tension that he'd been holding in his shoulders immediately melted and he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He kept staring into her eyes, to judge the sincerity, and all he found was confirmation. His heart swelled in his chest and a grin stretched the full width of his face, "Thank you, Marinette!" He threw an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in for a hug.

Marinette could feel that Adrien was shaking. His entire body quivered gently against her shoulders as he tucked her close to his chest. She wrapped an tentative arm around him and whispered, "Were you nervous?"

"You have _no_ idea," he sighed.

"Let's finish getting this put together and then we can discuss...other things."

"Absolutely."

They assembled the crib in record time, thanks to Adrien's ability to read instructions, and settled on the couch where they both passed out after a job well done.


	10. Chapter 10

Marinette and Adrien woke up, crumpled on the couch after the night of assembling the crib. They had agree that he'd call her later to arrange a time for their date, but seeing as Marinette had a whole list of errands to run and Adrien had classes to prep for, they separated after breakfast.

As soon as the door had closed she pulled out her phone. "Pick up, pick up," she whispered frantically.

"You've reached Alya Cesaire!"

"Alya, thank God, I don't know what I'm doing."

"Whoa, girl, slow down. What _are_ you doing?"

"I just agreed to go on a date with Adrien."

"WHAT!?!? When did this happen?"

"Uh, I kind of asked him to come over and help me assemble the crib last night--at your suggestion, I might add."

"You did not." Alya pinched the bridge of her nose and was thankful for the fact Marinette couldn't see her. Sure, she'd suggested it, but never thought Marinette would be brave enough to do it. Plus, she'd agreed with Nino not to meddle. This was such an odd situation. Not that Adrien inviting Marinette to her own parents' house for supper wasn't odd. It had only happened once.Marinette's parents took a back seat in her relationships and didn't like to pester their daughter, but they let Adrien do it for them.

That night, Marinette had called Alya to tell her that it had all been weird. She couldn't figure out if it was because her parents were so comfortable with Adrien there or if everything was just off because she was. Adrien kept sending her subtle glances. Then, Marinette felt like the visitor when Adrien busied himself busing and cleaning the dishes like he lived there. Marinette couldn't even remember where her parents stored their dish soap anymore. She felt like a stranger in her childhood home and the friend she'd obsessed over for so many years, that she hadn't talked to in ages, looked perfectly comfortable.

Three months they'd been dancing around a date. Adrien kept calling Marinette to see how she was doing. Marinette assumed he was being a good friend, but Alya had the Nino side in her ear saying that he was beating his head against a wall trying to get closer to her. Marinette calling him to help assemble a crib was a foot in the right direction.

Alya was practically tearing her hair out trying to mind her own business. She had told Nino she wouldn't push. Every molecule in her body was saying 'help her,' and yet her integrity was saying, 'don't you dare.' It was a paradoxical situation that she found more frustrating by the minute.

"I did. He asked me out and I panicked."

The sigh on the other end was audible, "By panic you said yes. When is this date? Could you wait until I'm home?"

"Uh, sure. We haven't figured out a date."

"Don't."

"All right, Alya, I won't," she giggled. Marinette knew the mom voice. Alya probably wanted to help her get ready for her first 'date' with Adrien. She'd been that voice in her ear for years, begging her to tell him how she felt, and now that she was about to step off that ledge, it was only natural she'd want to be there for the big day.

Marinette fiddled with the string at the bottom of her shirt and chewed on her lip. This was actually happening.

"Good," she sighed, "I'll see you when I get home. Hey, when is your sonogram appointment?"

"Tomorrow at 3:30."

Alya picked up her cup of coffee and blew air across it. The steam seeped up into her pours and warmed her chilly cheeks.

"Why don't you take Adrien to that," Alya suggested casually. What Nino doesn't know won't hurt him. If Marinette had taken her up on asking him to assemble the crib...why not?

"Uh, why? It's a sonogram. Do you think he'd actually want to go to something like that?"

"It's not like it's a date. He's teaching biology this semester. He might actually find it fascinating," she lied. Alya knew it could be bad. Adrien could dissolve into a puddle of awe or a puddle of angst, but either way she knew they'd both regret it if he missed this; especially with how their relationship was progressing.

"You know what? Sure. Why not? I'll ask him." She puffed her chest out and held her head up, determined. Marinette was sick to her stomach at the idea of going by herself. Alya had gone to all her appointments, but this important one she was going to miss.

"You don't have to. I'll butt out. This is your thing, girl. I have faith in you," she chuckled.

"Thank you, Alya. I'll talk to you later. When do you get home?"

"Wednesday."

"Okay. Love you!"

"Love ya, girl! Good morning!"

"Night!"

Marinette sat back and opened up a text box.

**Marinette: I have a sonogram appointment tomorrow. Would you like to come with me? I'd like the company.**

**Adrien: I'd love to! Do you usually go alone?**

**Marinette: No. Alya usually comes with me. She's still out of the country.**

**Adrien: I'm always available for doctor appts.**

**Marinette: Thanks, Adrien.**

Always available for doctors appointments? Adrien was vying for that top spot with Alya these days. Marinette smiled to herself at just how ecstatic teen Marinette would be if she could see into the future. Not only was she going on a date with Adrien Agreste, but she had her dream job working for Agreste Fashion; at twenty-three and on her own merit, no less.

* * *

She waited outside of the office with her hand gently resting on her nervously tapping knee. He wasn't there. She'd arrived and hoped he was there already, but he wasn't. Her watch was getting louder with each passing second;  _tick-tock,_ tick-tock,  ** _tick-tock_ , tick-tock, TICK-TOCK...** She nervously twisted a finger through a loose tendril of hair near her temple. It strung tightly around the digit like a boa constrictor. The blood pooled in the tip and it went cold before she remembered it was tied up.

The waiting room had generic gray carpet. Marinette hated the generic gray, although even worse the generic brown, because she knew it was to hide messes, like bodily fluids. There was a synthetic smell of hospital cleaners and rubbing alcohol. On the side table were maternity and parenting magazines along with some fashion and design. There weren't any literature directed towards children or spouses. It made Marinette a little sad to think waiting room didn't care to include the rest of the families in women's birthing journeys at the office. Chairs were lined around the perimeter and two rows of chairs were lined in the middle of the office with the backs facing each other.

The office door opened and in walked a panting Adrien. He appeared to have been running.

"HEY!" she exclaimed, launching herself out of the chair, "You made it!"

"Yeah, I got stuck in traffic," he smiled. He'd actually come over as Chat Noir, but came across a car accident and offered to help extract the victim so they could get him into an ambulance. Anyway...he made it.

"It's okay. You're here now."

"What do they do at these appointments?"

"Well, today, we're doing a standard check; blood pressure, weight, measure of fundal height and then an ultrasound."

"Fundal height?"

"They'll measure from the pubis to the top of the uterus," she shrugged, "Measuring growth and whatnot."

The nurse called them back and Marinette stood at the center where they took weight and blood pressure.

"Everything looks normal," the nurse smiled and led them back to a sonogram room. She handed Marinette a paper blanket, "Strip bottom half down and put this on your lap. The doctor will be in shortly."

Marinette held the items loosely in her hands and her pulse sky rocketed. The paper felt like lead in her hands. "Uh, I completely forgot about this," she grimaced, "It'll be pretty...revealing."

"I'll step out," he bowed.

"Thanks, Adrien. BUT--" she caught him before he left, "You can come in for the exam." She blushed shyly, "I don't mind."

When Marinette was ready she peeked out to let Adrien inside. He walked ahead of her as she waddled back to the table with the paper cover around her waist. "This is a pain," she giggled as she almost fell off the table.

"You OK there?" he chuckled.

"Fine," she nodded.

The doctor knocked and came in. She was young and pleasant, "How are mom and baby today?" she asked.

"So far so good," she grinned.

"And your husband?" 

"Adrien blushed and Marinette spluttered, " Oh, we're not married."

"How is daddy then?"

" He's not--"

"I'm doing wonderfully," Adrien beamed as he interrupted Marinette to prevent her lie due to ignorance.

The doctor pulled out a gloves and situated Marinette's feet in the stirrups. The doc guided her bottom to the end of the table and gave her the 'this'll be a bit cold and a small pinch' bit before she did her internal exam. That was quick and easy. Then she measured the fundal height. "Right on track! You're measuring five months. We're going to go ahead and do our 20 week ultrasound. Do you want to know the sex?"

Adrien waited impatiently for Marinette to answer. She glanced over at him and he shrugged.

"Up to you, mama."

Marinette grinned at the moniker, "Yes. I would if we can."

The doctor nodded, "Sure. we'll try."

* * *

Alya sat by her phone waiting rather impatiently for Marinette to call. Her finger nail had been gnawed away to the quick and there was nothing else to do other than pace. Her flight left in a few hours and everything was packed away. When the tone started playing she immediately answered.

"Tell me you learned something," she exclaimed.

Marinette sighed, "Should you tell her or should I?"

"Who tell me what? Marinette? Is there someone else there?"

"I'm calling you again. Wait, hold on."

There was a click and Alya growled at her phone, "Damn it, Marinette. That's not cool."

Suddenly, her phone began to chime again, but this time it showed a video call.

She pushed the green button and put on her best glare, "So not funny, Mari--Adrien!? Long time no see. What are you doing still hanging around at," she glanced at her watch and added six hours, "7:00?"

"I went with Marinette to the appointment today," he was grinning.

Alya felt a bittersweet tug at her heart. Adrien looked happier than she'd ever seen him. Although, this whole situation had also made him the saddest she'd ever seen him. The ups and downs were giving everyone, except the ever oblivious Marinette, whiplash.

"Okay, so what did you find out?" she exclaimed and bounced in her seat, "You gotta share. Quit holding out on me, girl."

"If you'd let me get a word in edgewise," Marinette chastised, "I'd tell you." She looked over to Adrien and smiled, "I'm having a baby girl!" A sonogram was instantly in front of the camera where Alya could just make out the white outlines of a well-defined baby.

"Oh my God! I can't believe you're having a baby," she sighed, "This is amazing, guys."

Marinette grinned, "I'm so excited, Alya. I'm ready to make her tiny dresses and buy cute little plushies."

"You are going to be an amazing mom," she smiled, "And you take care of my girl until I get there, Agreste."

"Absolutely," he nodded with a grin that refused to quit.

Adrien had been planning to make a move for a while. Between Marinette's busy work schedule, and his inability to arrange everything around it, he'd had to wait until the very last minute and make some minor adjustments. He sat back on Marinette's couch while she finished her conversation with Alya. There was no time like the present. He knew Alya was going to be upset, which is why he didn't even dare tell Nino of his plans, but he had to do this.

"Well, I guess I'll talk to you later, Alya. Bye!" Marinette turned to glance at Adrien. He rested the back of his head between both outstretched palms, his fingers interweaved behind, and his eyes were half open. He was staring at her. "What? What is it?" She immediately put her hands up to her face as if he was looking at a blemish or something.

He reached out and grabbed her wrist with one of his hands, dropped the other to his lap, and turned his head to face her, "Marinette...you are beautiful."

At first she just stared at him, wide-eyed and speechless, before she laughed. There was no way Adrien was talking about her like that and calling her beautiful. It was a joke or something you tell a friend because they're feeling down. "Sure, I appreciate the pick me up, but I realize I'm a blimp." She glanced down at her protruding stomach. It was really starting to pop now.

"No, really," he squeezed her hand reassuringly, "I've been trying to tell you all week how I feel about you so I thought now was a good time."

No, no, no. He couldn't be telling her these things now. It wasn't fair. She didn't have time for a relationship and now, all of a sudden, the man of her dreams wants her to try to make something with him? This couldn't be happening. She didn't have that bad of luck. "Adrien, we can't."

"Why not?" he blurted, "I like you. A LOT! Hell, I think I might love you."

"I don't have time for a boyfriend, Adrien," she sighed, "I barely have time for myself."

"What about your baby, Marinette? Do you have time for _your_ daughter?" He thought 'our' in his head. "We could make it work. Won't you let us at least try?" he begged.

Her world was spinning, "I...this is too much right now."

"I'll do whatever you want. I can stay home with the baby," he whispered, then pleaded, "Please? You can always tell me how you feel and if there's a problem we can try to fix it together. I want to be there for you."

She nodded, "I know, you're a great friend, but this is a lot of responsibility and a big decision."

Adrien didn't even realize when he'd knelt down on the floor or that tears were streaming down his face. Somehow he'd found himself in front of Marinette, his forehead on her knees and her hands clasped in his, begging, "I won't ask you for anything else, Marinette. If we can't make this work you can ask me to leave you alone forever and I will. Just, please, don't push me out of _her_ life."

Oops.

"What do you mean by that Adrien?" Marinette had stilled and pulled away. "Why do you want to be in my daughter's life so badly, huh?" She pushed his shoulders away and stood up. Alya's words flashed through her mind. 'I found you a donor...he's _PERFECT_ _.'_ Too perfect. _Damn it, Alya!  
_

Perhaps she stood up a little too fast. The room spun as quickly as her head was and everything went dark.

Adrien saw Marinette's eyes roll back as he reached out to catch her just before she collapsed on the couch. "Marinette!?" he tapped her face, "Mari!"

Her eyes fluttered open and she glared at him, "I'm going to _kill_ Alya," was all she said before she threw her arm over her eyes and groaned.

"Does that mean you'll think about it?" he asked getting right up in her face.

Marinette sighed and growled, "Don't start." It was as if clarity had brought on apathy in Marinette. All of a sudden she didn't have the energy to dedicate to this crap. Her emotions were tied up together like those in a golf ball; stable, but just waiting to snap and explode. "I don't have the time or the energy to analyze this shit right now."

Adrien bit his lip to stifle a chuckle. Pregnant Marinette was a moody Marinette and he loved it. She could have kicked him out. She could have yelled at him. She could have done dozens of different scenarios that were less favorable to this one. Instead, she was grouchy and in denial. He could handle denial. That's an emotion he was too familiar with.

"Do you want me to get you something to eat?" he asked after a long silence. Marinette had refused to move while lying back on the couch. He thought it was his job to do something to ease the tension. He knew she didn't want to talk and it could wait.

"Yes," she nodded, "Please."

"I can make macaroni and cheese."

"Throw in a can of tuna and you've got a deal."

"Do you have the boxed kind?"

"Alya should have some in the cupboard," she grumbled.

Adrien busied himself in the kitchen to make one of the few things he could do on his own without burning down the house. He assumed Marinette had fallen asleep as she hadn't moved the entire time he was working at the stove.

"Mari," he whispered, "Food is done." She didn't move so he reached out to gently nudge her elbow, "Mare?" She groaned and rolled over toward the back of the couch. "We'll get you something to eat later, princess." Adrien slipped his hand beneath her knees and the other around her shoulders to carry her to bed. Once he'd opened the door the realization hit him that he'd never been in her bedroom here before. Her bed was king size and on the far side of the room. There was a large window on the far side and two doors to his right. One door was open to a bathroom and the other he assumed was a closet.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered as he laid her down and pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead. As he stood to walk away. Her hand glided down his arm before tightening around his wrist slowing his movement.

"Don't go," she whispered.

Adrien didn't have to be told twice. He climbed in to the bed next to her. She rolled onto her side and pulled his arm over her so that his chest was flush with her back. He curled himself around her and sighed. Neither one of them said anything more. They were going to enjoy an afternoon nap together; food and talk could wait until they were ready.


	11. Chapter 11

Marinette woke to Adrien gazing at her. It was intense and the depth of his thoughts evident. She really didn't want to try and figure out why he was staring at her like that. It was too much right now so she buried her face in his chest and groaned.

"Why did you do it?"

"Do what?" she mumbled.

"Agreed to go on a date with me when you don't have time for a relationship?"

 _Oh, that. I was stupid. Foolish. Excited. I'd waited years for an actual date with you and deep down I wanted it. I still do._ She couldn't tell him that. Marinette wasn't sure what she should tell him. That voice of Alya popped up in her head 'just tell him, girl.'

"I always wondered what it would be like to go on a date with you. I guess I thought we could try to make a go of it. I guess it was silly, huh?" Then she pulled back to gaze at him and back down to her swollen abdomen and grimaced, "Or not."

He frowned, "Are you upset with me, Marinette?"

"NO! I'm not mad at you," she wrapped her arms around his torso and laid her cheek against his chest in a hug, "I just...why did _you_ do it?"

"Pardon?"

"Why did you agree to this?" she ran her fingers gingerly across his chest and drew circles over his heart, "I'm not saying I'm not grateful. I just. Adrien, you're too precious for this world, do you know that? You selflessly helped me even though I know it hurt you. It all makes so much sense now. That time at Nino's when you were having a bad day. That was because of me, wasn't it?"

He sighed sadly, "Caught me."

"I'm sorry, Adrien." Then she huffed, "This is really messed up, you know? I'm angry at Alya because she went to you. She knew you weren't donor material. You know why? You're daddy material." He gasped, but she continued, "It's true! Even I know that. Ugh." She groaned and patted his chest, "You are one of my best friends, Adrien. I won't tell you that you can't be part of this child's life now that I know." She heard a sharp intake of breath and felt him shudder. Marinette pulled back to look up at his face. Silent tears dripped onto her pillow. She reached up to wipe them away, "Don't cry."

He grabbed her hand and kissed it, "I can't help it."

"You're so sweet."

"You've just given me the one thing I wanted most in this world and I'm overwhelmed."

Marinette nuzzled his neck, "You are special to me. I really think we _should_ go on that date."

He pulled away to stare into her eyes and only saw sincerity there, "You mean it? You'd try to make something work...for me?"

She blushed, "I've always liked you, Adrien. I'm more than willing to try. I just know I'm not in a good place to be there like I should, like you would deserve."

He laughed, "Mari, you don't have to be. I understand work is demanding. I know how my father is. I still want to try."

"Okay," she grinned, "Then we will. After I get through with Alya."

"Don't be too hard on her," he whispered against the crown of her head, "She loves you. It was all for you."

"I know." That was the problem. She didn't think about Adrien and that just pissed Marinette off.

"Besides, we wouldn't be together right now if it weren't for her," he chuckled.

She sighed, "I'm still going to feel awful and guilty for working all the time."

"Don't," he shook his head, "You won't need a babysitter. I don't have to work."

"No, Adrien, you love your job."

"I do," he nodded, "But I think I'll love being a daddy more. I can't even tell you how excited I am that you're willing to give me a chance. You're giving me the greatest gift of my life, Marinette."

"Slow down there, turbo. We still have a lot to discuss. You can't just decide to stop teaching. That's a big decision."

"Yes," he nodded, "Hasty decisions end up with beautiful miracles and the woman of your dreams curled up in your arms. I have to be especially careful."

She blushed madly, but still rolled her eyes, "You hopeless romantic, you. Did you forget all the heart ache that got you to this point?"

"Worth. It."

"You're unbelievable," she sighed.

Just then, as if on cue, his stomach growled, "And hungry. We skipped lunch."

"Darn. I'll order something," she started to stand up and Adrien grabbed her hand to pull her back down.

"Allow me." He leaned back on her comforter and pulled her against him. He produced his cell phone and quickly placed a delivery order online. "No need to get up just yet."

"No," she sighed, "I guess not."

* * *

The afternoon was spent in her bedroom overlooking the city. Windows made up three of the four sides of her room, being the penthouse apartment, and the setting sun showered her bed in golden light. It wasn't fair how the rays shimmered through Adrien's natural golden highlights. They had ordered Italian from the restaurant down the street from Marinette's apartment. Then they broke the house rule and curled up on her bed to eat it.

"I don't even let Alya eat in here," she snickered.

"I feel honored," he bowed, "That I have been given this privilege and Alya has not."

She grinned, "Consider it an exception I have made for you as the father of my child."

Suddenly, Adrien stiffened and Marinette was afraid she might have said something wrong. His fork stopped half way to his mouth before he dropped it back to the cardboard container that held his mastaccioli. She squirmed uncomfortably as his face contorted from one of shock to one of awe.

"Adrien, I..."

"I'm going to be a daddy, Marinette," he whispered reverently and glanced down to her swollen abdomen. "You really have my baby in there."

"I've garnered as much, yes," she nodded. She was still a little afraid to make any sudden movements in the case she might spook him.

It was as if in slow motion, his face scrunched up and dropped into his hands. He shook slightly and she heard him take a shuddering breath.

"Come here," she whispered and pulled his head to her chest. Marinette slipped her fingers through his hair, "You're too precious."

He spluttered, "I-I'm overwhelmed. I never thought I'd get this chance."

"Ever?" she questioned skeptically.

"No," he whined, "You don't know, Mari. People don't like me. They like the idea of me."

"I like you," she hummed.

He sighed happily and she felt a hot tear rush down her forearm against his cheek, "And don't think I'm not thankful."

She held him a moment more before he pulled away and wiped his eyes. Then they returned to their meal. As soon as they were finished eating, Marinette was yawning again. Adrien laughed at how tired she was all the time.

"I don't even know why! I haven't been this tired for a while."

Adrien leaned back on one of her pillows and pulled out his phone, "Good old google. Says here fatigue is common in pregnancy. Though it is usually most often in the first trimester a woman can get fatigued at any time throughout her pregnancy. Some women don't get fatigued at all."

She groaned, "Ugh. I'm definitely not one of those women. I'm ready for another nap."

Adrien gave her a smug cheshire grin as he opened his arms wide, "My turn!" He wiggled happily when she rested her head on his chest and hummed. "I look forward to more of these."

"Of course," she nodded, "You make a great pillow, but don't force yourself."

He laughed out loud, "As if! If my father hadn't drilled in an extremely high level of self-control, I'd probably be begging. Now I'm not so sure I wouldn't. Don't make me beg," he pleaded.

"I won't," she sighed, "It takes away precious snuggle time."

They fell asleep and didn't wake up until they heard the front door slam. Marinette sat up with a start, "Alya!"

Adrien yawned and rubbed his eyes, "What are you going to say to her?"

"Nothing." She turned to meet his eyes, "We're going to play it off like I'm none the wiser until I can come up with a plan."

"Right," he nodded in agreement. "So we're just taking an afternoon nap together."

"Sure," she smiled. Before she even thought it through, she leaned over and pressed a quick kiss on his cheek. Then she hurried out to greet Alya, leaving a glassy eyed Adrien smiling happily behind her.


	12. Chapter 12

Alya dropped her keys on the table by the front door as a smiling Marinette came out to greet her.

"How was your trip?"

"Ugh...long," she sighed and lifted her arms to give a hug in greeting. "So what is going on between you and Adrien, huh?" She waggled her eyebrows before chuckling and shaking her head. Her friend was ridiculous in her confusing dance between wanting and not wanting that boy. Luckily, Marinette was leaning more towards the 'like' than the 'not like' as of late.

As if on cue, there was a thumping sound from Marinette's bedroom. Marinette cringed and bit her lip.

"What was that?" Alya peeked her head around the kitchen and peered over to where Marinette's bedroom was located.

"Uh, nothing. I'm sure it was nothing."

"Nothing, uh-huh," Alya nodded as she was quickly racing towards Marinette's room with Marinette chasing after her.

"Wait, Alya!"

The door flew open and Alya was greeted by Adrien Agreste smiling up sheepishly. It appeared he'd gotten his feet tangled up in packing materials, from the crib they'd set up the other day, and tumbled onto the floor.

"Hi, Alya." He waved awkwardly and glanced over at a gaping Marinette.

Marinette was trying to go through the entire situation in her head. They'd agreed that he'd go down the fire escape and then 'show up' soon after Alya. Well, that was out the door. "I can explain!" she exclaimed, "Adrien just came over to h-help me, uh, take out the packaging and stuff."

"Trash doesn't come until Wednesday." One of Alya's eyebrows rose as if saying 'go ahead, tell me another one.'

"Yes, but there's a lot, so so so he was going to carry it down to the dumpster for me."

"Sure. Hey, Adrien, what all are you helping Marinette throw away?"

"I was, uh..."

"He was going to--"

"I know Adrien is a big boy. He can speak for himself," Alya interrupted with her hand out, "Care to tell me what you're actually doing here?" She grinned mischievously.

"Can't we just tell her?" he glanced up to Marinette who smacked her palm to her forehead.

"We _have_ to now," she sighed, "Alya, Adrien has been helping me out with my fatigue around the house. You've been gone and it's been a really hard week at work. I like having him around. Is that a crime?"

Alya glanced between the two and knew there was something else going on, but just couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Fine. Whatever. I know that's not the truth, but let's just go with it for now."

"I don't want you to feel like you're being replaced," Marinette started softly. If she could make this about Alya then maybe Alya wouldn't be too suspicious.

"I'm not...wait, is he moving in?" Alya's eyes widened in horror.

"NO!" Adrien exclaimed, but then he glanced over to Marinette before wondering, "I'm not, am I?"

"No! No. If anything, house key max."

"He's getting a house key?!" Alya squealed, "Oh, this is too good. I have to tell Nino. You know," she pointed at Adrien, "She didn't give me a house key until I'd camped out on her couch for three days."

Adrien smirked and stretched his arms before crossing them behind his head, "Well, I guess we know who her favorite is now, don't we."

Alya grabbed a stuffed bear that was sitting on a table by the door and chucked it at his abdomen. He huffed 'ooof' as it hit. "Hey, now, don't you start talking shit or I'll have to _take out the trash._ " She added a wink for good measure.

"She'd do it, too," Marinette nodded.

He glared up at her, "You're just going to have to get used to it and do your worst." He stuck his tongue out at Alya who fake lunged at him. He jumped in alarm.

"Made you flinch!" she cackled at him and pointed, "Don't ever change, honey." Alya whirled around and left to see the crib they'd assembled in the middle of the living room. It was still there as they hadn't moved it to the nursery yet. "This look really nice, guys!"

It was a cherry red and solid wood. The mattress level was adjustable, but it was difficult so it could be secure.

"Not like she's ever going to be sleeping in here anyway," Marinette mused with a shrug.

Alya's head bobbed absentmindedly while Adrien gaped at her.

"Why not?" he asked confused.

"Well, I was thinking about co-sleeping so I can nurse easier at night."

Adrien put on his best glare and she giggled.

"Not like I don't have a whole king size bed to myself," she waggled her eyebrows teasingly.

He rolled his eyes and excused himself to the kitchen, "I'm going to go get myself a nice, tall, cold glass of ice water. Anyone else want some?" His cheeks had pinked up slightly as he left.

Alya missed the entire exchange, absorbed into her cell phone, with a frown. "Have you guys noticed that Ladybug and Chat Noir haven't been seen in like months?"

Neither Marinette nor Adrien moved.

"No...?"

Adrien peeked into the living room, "It's not like they have a lot to do these days."

"I know," Alya shrugged, "It's just...I miss those days, you know? It'd be nice to see them again."

"I bet they'd love to see you again, too, Al, but maybe not while chasing down the akumas they're trying to stop."

Alya grinned, "Yeah, that's true, but damn those were good times."

"Scary. Scary times," Marinette corrected.

"Here, here!" Adrien agreed as he rounded the counter and took up a seat at a barstool, with a large glass of ice water. "No more akumas. No more Hawk Moth. No more Alya running into crazy scary situations."

"You both are no fun," Alya pouted.

Adrien and Marinette gave each other high fives from across the room. Neither one of them were aware as to why the other found it so funny as they erupted into giggles.

"You guys are dorks," Alya rolled her eyes, "I can't believe you guys didn't hook up in high school. I feel so attacked right now."

Marinette and Adrien averted their eyes from each other, awkwardly, as the weight of Alya's words hit them both pretty hard. It wasn't like a slap to the arm, but more like a firm kick square in the chest.

"Ahem," Adrien coughed and mumbled, "Yeah. Those were crazy times."

"Crazy times," Marinette repeated airily.

Neither one of them were paying attention to each other. Instead, visions of their super hero selves, jumping through the city of Paris, chasing akumas, flitted through their consciousness. Bittersweet memories, indeed.

"Well, Nino wants me to come over. We're going out! Going to do some shopping for the reception and whatnot."

"You just got here!" Marinette's head snapped up to see Alya picking up her purse.

"Yeah, well, you two are hanging out and I don't want to intrude. I'll be back in a few hours. Don't wait up," she winked as she snuck out the front door.

"Thanks, Al," Marinette grumbled. "She's such a brat."

Adrien stood up from his seat at the bar and walked over to the couch where Marinette was seated. He dropped down next to her and opened up one of his arms in invitation, if she wanted. Marinette smiled thankfully and snuggled up into his side.

They sat there in a companionable silence for a while. It was nice to just feel the warmth from another person and listening to their steady breathing.

"You want to stay the night?"

He chuckled against her, "Didn't I already stay the night?"

She scoffed up at him and tapped his chest, "We have a lot to talk about, monsieur."

"I'm just joking," he pressed a kiss to her temple.

Marinette burrowed her face into his chest at the gesture. It gave her butterflies in all the right ways. "Sooo...?"

"Sooo...?"

"How are we going to handle this?" she gestured to her abdomen and sighed, "She's not getting any younger here."

"What do you want to do?"

"You can't quit your job," she said pointedly, "Not an option."

"I could take up cycling."

"All the way to school? Every morning?"

"Hey, Mme. Bustier used to. If the weather is bad I could always get father's chauffeur to drive me. It's not like he hasn't been wanting me to be closer to the office anyway. He really wants me to do more with the company."

"He does," she nodded with a snicker, "He's been dropping hints at work, too. I think he hopes I'll subliminally pick up on it and bring it up."

"Hints like?"

"Mentioning you at work events, in board meetings, keeping tabs on how often I see you, and stuff like that. I think I got an e-mail from him with an invitation to some show in Prague and he suggested I ask you to come as my plus one."

"Really!?" his eyes about bugged out of his head, "That's kind of odd, Marinette."

"He's been acting a bit strange lately."

Adrien took a long gulp of cold water and hissed through his teeth as it chilled his throat.

"WAIT!" Marinette exclaimed, "Were you thinking about moving in _here?_ "

Adrien slowly turned to look down at the baffled girl before him. He beamed, "What did you think I meant?"

"Th-th-that you...that you...maybe you were going to...I don't know," she sat up, her arms gesticulating wildly.

"I'm not going to teach, bike here, see you and the kittle for like three hours, before having to bike back home. That's just silly. Especially, not in the dead of night if she or you got sick or something."

Marinette just stared up at him blankly. He made great points. Although, that meant he'd be moving in with her. Into her apartment. Living with Adrien full time.

"Marinette?" he waved a hand in front of her face, "Where'd you go?"

She shook her head and blinked, "I, uh, that's just a lot to take in. Sorry."

He frowned. Was she not a fan of the idea? "Would you rather I not--"

She held a hand up, "Don't finish that sentence. It sounds like a reasonable idea. Really, it does. I just need to take a minute to let it all organize itself in my head, okay?"

Adrien let out a sigh of relief and nodded. Marinette wasn't saying no. Admittedly, it was a big step moving in with someone; especially someone you were having a child with. He couldn't expect her to automatically be on board with it even if he was prepared to; like right now.

Instead, he decided to focus on other important things. He let his head fall back against the couch as his eyes misted over, "I'm going to be a father."

Marinette stopped her frantic internal freak out to look at Adrien. He appeared to be freaking out as well and It looked like he was going to cry. She leaned back and snuggled against him. He wrapped both of his arms around her this time and hummed happily.

"I could get used to this," he whispered.

"Me, too," she nodded.

"We'd get to do it more often if I were to move in, Marinette?" He suggested it again. Adrien was nothing if not persistent. However, this time his delivery was more playful, so she could choose to take it or leave it. He made it sound like a joke, even though he was completely serious. Adrien had a bad habit of using humor to obfuscate the seriousness and lessen the blow of potential rejection. It was one of many self-preservation techniques he'd had managed to pick up over the years.

She grinned, "You know, I think you should, Adrien." It wasn't like it had to be permanent. She wanted to try. He wanted to try. Why not?

Marinette felt him squeeze her tighter and hummed happily against her, "Do you mean it?!"

"Of course, I do. After Alya moves out, of course. That would be awkward. I'm sure I'll need the help and you can spend more time with the baby that way." She was sort of mumbling everything as it occurred to her, oblivious to the tear that rolled down Adrien's cheek. His persistence had paid off.

He didn't allow her to see it. Instead, he tucked her under his chin and sighed happily. This is what they meant when they talk about that silver lining. He'd had his fair share of storm clouds. Marinette, this baby, and all the potential possibilities of their future, were the rays of sunshine he desperately needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up Next:
> 
> **Alya gets hers.  
> 


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien are still unsure as to what to call their relationship, but at least now they are taking some much needed steps in the right direction. Marinette can't figure out how to reconcile her mind with her heart and Adrien realizes that he's just the person to help her out. 
> 
> Oh, and Alya gets hers.
> 
> Move in day!

Marinette and Adrien decided it would be a good idea to go through a practice period of living together, but not at Marinette's apartment. One, they wanted to see what it would be like just the two of them, and Alya was still living there. Two, Marinette always had her apartment to go back to, without any bad memories, if things didn't work out. They came up with a plan that worked well for both of them.

Adrien got a key from Nathalie, with his father's permission, to move into one of the furnished apartments they kept for short-term clients, but with extended projects for months at a time.

"I just need a change of pace," Adrien shrugged as he asked Nathalie. His father, in his desperation to convince his son to participate more in the company, did not question it and authorized it for him.

That's how they ended up here, staying in one of Gabriel Agreste's furnished apartments. Marinette knew it well. She'd helped to decorate the interior of this one herself. It had a lot of pastels and browns which played well off of each other in the bedrooms. The living spaces were all light and airy, but with more vibrant accents thrown in.

"How long are we going to live here?" Marinette asked as she flopped down next to him on the couch. "I need to be back at my apartment some during the night so Alya doesn't suspect anything."

He wrapped an arm around her and sighed, "I don't know. Until we're comfortable with each other and after we've given Alya a taste of her own medicine. We do still have some reciprocal meddling to do." He held up his phone and grinned, "I'm sure Nino would help us out."

Marinette grinned, "Adrien, you're awful." Then she chuckled and clapped her hands together excitedly, "Awfully wonderful. Oh, let me! Please!"

He handed his phone over to her and smirked when she easily unlocked it. Marinette opened up a text box and sent it to Nino. _Need private chat._

The response came back almost immediately.

**Nino: Anything for you, my dude.**

**A &M: I want you and Alya to come over for supper tomorrow night.**

**Nino: We're going to your place?**

**A &M: No. Don't tell Alya anything except you're going over to Agreste's tonight. I'll message an address. Say 'The Agreste's' and when you get here. Oh, and pretend Marinette and I are married and living together. Just play along.**

**Nino: ?!?!?! What. The. Hell. ?!?! She would flip!?  
**

**A &M:  Just trust me. It'll be worth it. I'll explain later.  
**

Nino could already see where this was going. He really wanted to, but then he also wanted to get married. Oooh, the temptation was too strong.

**Nino: :D Sure thing!**

**A &M: You're the best, Nino!**

**Nino: You know it!**

* * *

Adrien awoke with Marinette curled up against him. Her little baby bump was pressed into his side and he sighed. Oh, how he loved that that was his baby growing there inside of her. He was technically still a virgin, in all senses of the word, and yet here he was going to be a father. His heart swelled with the enormity of it, despite how absurd the whole situation was. Although, in his entire twenty-four years of life on this planet, he was feeling more hopeful of actually having a meaningful relationship now than ever before. He'd never even gotten close with Ladybug, and no other girl had really caught more than just a passing glance, besides Marinette.

She hummed happily in her sleep and nuzzled deeper into his chest. "Love..." she muttered. He grinned down at her. She was dreaming about something happy enough to say what he clearly heard was love. "Adrien," she mumbled.

His eyes widened. Surely it was just a coincidence she'd said love and his name at the same time. Just a happy dream with him in it. She was so sweet!

They hadn't gone on an actual date yet. They had discussed him moving in, but he was sure that was for all logical purposes on her end. They hadn't discussed a romantic relationship of any sort. Could he dare to hope that she might feel the same about him as he did for her?

"Umbrella," she grumbled.

Adrien frowned. Yep, it must have been a coincidence. She'd probably say ice cream next or something. He was pretty happy she at least dreamed about him in a pleasant context. That brought a smile to his face. Oh, how adorable was his Marinette.

"Mmmmh," she moaned as she stretched out along side him and fluttered her eyelashes open. A little smile graced her lips and she blushed, "Good mornings, Adrien."

"Good morning," he replied, " _hopefully_ more."

He let her stretch some more as he could see her start to wake up. She looked up at him again, but this time she stilled and grinned shyly, "Hi."

"You just realized I was here, didn't you?" he smirked. He loved how you could see the exact moment Marinette gained full consciousness. She was so expressive it was almost impossible not to.

She buried her head in his chest and whined, "Maybe."

He laughed boisterously and mussed her hair, "You're so silly." _I love it._

She leaned back and pouted up at him, "Am not."

"Are so," he insisted and his eyes twinkled with guileless mirth.

Marinette huffed, but maintained her playful pout. She wasn't going to let him get away with being his usual charming self while he made fun of her without at least throwing some of it back at him. She knew he found her coyness endearing.

Marinette glanced around the room and sighed. It was a new bedroom, but not unwelcomed. She had helped decorate it, after all, and all the sea greens and pinks with the brown contrasting furniture and trim made it all feel particularly cozy.

* * *

The evening before, Marinette and Adrien had arrived with their arms full. Marinette had a backpack and a duffel. Adrien had three duffels and a large backpack. In the car, Arthur was waiting with a trunk full of boxes.

"Was all this necessary?" Marinette asked as they dropped everything on the dining room table. She'd tried to pare down some of the stuff Adrien insisted on bringing, but he wouldn't back down.

"Yes," he nodded, "We don't know how long we want to stay. I mean, Nathalie and Father didn't give me a time limit and you never know, right?"

"I have an apartment," she grinned.

"Which you aren't paying for," he smirked, "And this one just sits empty 80% of the year. Plus, they think I'm living here so I can get all kinds of services _extra._ "

"I'm not doing this for all of your offspring perks," she chuckled.

"Ah!" he held a finger up, "But, ould you do this for _my_ offspring's perks?"

"No," she pouted with an exaggerated frown. Then her eyes widened, "Your father is going to _kill_ me when he finds out!"

Adrien began to chuckle, "My father? No. He might be a prickly bear for a while, and make your life a living hell, but he's not merciful enough to kill you."

Marinette groaned, "Don't say that." She reached down and rubbed her rotund abdomen absentmindedly, "This is his grandbaby." Her voice came out in an awed whisper and she grinned, "When are we going to tell him he's going to be a grandpa?"

There was a hand gently rubbing up and down her arm and Adrien sighed happily, "When you're ready." It made him feel warm inside every time she referred to the his baby in any indirect context; this being  telling his father he's going to have a grandbaby. "When are you telling your parents?"

Adrien was just as excited, if not more so about telling Marinette's parents. Since he'd quit modeling at Gabriel, and moved out to live on his own, they'd become a sort of adoptive family to him. As often as they referred to him as son it was only natural he'd feel a sort of kinship for them.

Marinette grinned shyly and glanced up at him from beneath her lashes, "I don't know. What do you think?"

"After we've talked to Alya and Nino?"

She nodded, "That sounds perfect. What are we goin to tell them about us?" Marinette worried her lip. This was one of the things she'd worried about the most. Her parents knew she'd inseminated herself so what would they think when she said the baby was Adrien's? They knew they weren't in a relationship, otherwise they'd just have done it the old fashioned way. The idea of that made her blush. No, they would think they were just friends; which was true, to an extent. Right now, she and Adrien didn't really have a name for their somewhat-platonic, exclusive relationship. Even they were confused.

"I don't know," he shrugged, "What do you want to tell them?"

Marinette sighed and buried her head in his chest, "I just want everything to be simpler, but it's all so confusing. What are we, Adrien?" _Friends? Dating? What?_ They hadn't technically gone on their first date yet and they were living together? The whole thing was ridiculous.

"I'd feel safe saying we're dating," he smirked. "Even if we haven't gone on a date. Look at this," he gestured around the room and then to themselves, "We're living together, and sleeping together." Marinette blushed at that. Oh, how he loved that pink color to grace her cheeks. "It's not entirely _friendly_ for me, to be honest." He'd been in that 'friend-zone' for far too long and he was just dying to get out. To be more.

"No," she shook her head, "Me, neither."

Adrien ran his fingers through her loose hair and hummed happily. That was the closest Marinette had come to accepting a real relationship with him to date.

Marinette frowned, "Dating just sounds so silly. It's not right, either."

"Involved? Taken? An item?"

Her grin broke out as she chuckled," I guess dating doesn't sound _too_ silly. Let's go with that for now."

"Oh, but not tonight. Tonight we're married, remember?"

Marinette's eyes widened and she jumped to her knees, "I completely forgot! Oooh, Alya is going to flip!"

"That's the hope," he winked.

* * *

"Hey, babe, we're going to Agreste's tonight for supper," Nino mumbled over his reuben. He was very careful to say 'Agreste's' and save 'The Agreste's' for when he got there. It was all part of the plan he'd been read into that morning.

Adrien had texted him the address of a townhouse over by the Eiffel, a fancy-schmancy place he'd never be able to afford, ever. Then he informed him that the plan was to play along that they were married, had been for a while, they'd been living together for the last two months, and Alya is completely delirious when she argues. The plan includes she and Nino taking a nap before coming over. He didn't think that'd be hard to arrange at all, seeing as they took an afternoon siesta often enough.

She smirked, "Good. I have some things I'd like to discuss with Adrien."

Nino attmepted to school his facial features before nodding, "Yeah, that would be a good time to chat."

"Do we need to bring anything with us?"

"Nope, just ourselves," Nino gestured to himself and flipped his hands to indicate Alya.

"I need to head back to Mari's and get some work done on Monday's expose. You know how I hate procrastinating."

"Uh, babe, how about we hang out this afternoon. It's been a so long since we've just been together without discussing wedding stuff," he leaned towards her and lightly slid his fingertips down her arm, waggled his eyebrows, and crooned, "It would be nice."

Alya's brow rose and she huffed, "What do you want?"

He scoffed, "I'd think that's pretty obvious. You know, when a guy loves a gal very much they sometimes like to--"

Alya pressed her finger to his lips and snickered, "I know you want _that_ , but I was referring to anything in addition to."

He kissed her fingertip and grinned, "Just you."

"Fine," she nodded, "I suppose it could wait until tomorrow, but NO later! So don't even ask."

He held his hands up in front of himself defensively and shook his head, "Wouldn't even dream of it."

* * *

Nino made sure Alya was napping soundly when he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

**Nino: Yo, dude, she's out. I don't know how I'm going to do this.**

**Adrien: Just don't say anything unless she brings it up.**

**Nino: What if she asks about one of you.**

**Adrien: If necessary to say anything just pretend we're married. Easy.**

Nino huffed to himself. He was getting nervous. Alya could quite literally _kill_ him after this. Although, he couldn't back out now. He'd already committed himself to helping out. He wasn't sure why, that was above his paygrade, but they'd be explaining it tonight.

Another hour later and Alya began to stir.

"Hey there, sleeping beauty," Nino grinned and slipped his arm behind her head.

"Hey, babe," she smiled sleepily, "Did you sleep?"

"Nah, I ended up not being that tired." And I was nervous because I'm about to help our best friends in teh entire world prank you for their own twisted amusement.

"Oh, I'm sorry you weren't tired." She yawned and glanced at her watch, "Crap! Is that the time? I need to ge ready so we can go over to Adrien's."

"Yeah, me, too. Yeah," he nodded and walked over to his closet to get dressed. This was going to be such a long night. Oh, man, oh, man.

* * *

Nino held the door open for Alya and smiled cordially.

"How debonaire!" she exclaimed before cackling as he shut the door.

Nino ran around the front of the car and mumbled to himself, "if you only knew" as he blew warm air into his gloves. It was freezing and looked like it could snow any moment. Alya appeared to be content sitting in her seat as she slipped the seat belt over her shoulder.

Nino hopped into their little two door coupe and thanked the powers that be for the car starting and providing heat. It was really a questionable occurence these days, but he and Alya were watching their spending and a new car wasn't in the budget. Nino held his hands in front of the blower for a few more seconds before putting the car in drive.

They drove for about ten minutes when Alya started glancing around nervously, "Babe, doesn't Adrien live that way?" She pointed to the west and he gripped the steering wheel tighter.

 _Just play it cool, man, play it cool_. Or not. Nino began to shake his head exaggeratedly, in an attempt to appear calm and collected, but it just appeared jerky and unnatural.

"Ooookaaay?" she nodded, "Since when did he move?" Alya thought about it to herself. It wasn't that he'd moved in with Marinette, because she'd have noticed another roommate. No, that wasn't it. She was going to find out, though.

"Uh, it's been a while. You remember," he side-eyed her and felt himself start to relax. Seeing Alya getting rattled always made gave him more confidence; he _could_ do this. Big breaths and, "Yeah. I told you a long time ago when they moved in."

"They who? Does he have a roommate now?" Alya's eyebrows rose into her hairline as she contemplated the new information. Adrien was not the type to have a roommate. 1) He had enough money that it wasn't necessary and 2) he was always pretty skittish in his own space even when he just had visitors. She couldn't see it.

"Alya, I don't have time for this. We're almost there. If you could not act all weird today that'd be great. The Agrestes are good friends of ours and I just want us all to have a good time."

He put the car in park and hopped out. Internally, he was counting 3, 2, 1...

"WAIT a SECOND!" Alya pushed the door open before Nino could even get there to open it for her. "Agrestes?" Her eyes widened as she gaped openly at him, "What are you talking about? Where the hell are we? Buddy, you better start talking or we're going to have ourselves a problem!"

Nino just rushed ahead of her, Alya hot on his heels, as he called for the elevator. The doors opened as soon as he got to them and he gave her a tight apologetic smile. He reached out to take her hands, but she pulled them away from him, silently fuming. "You're really scaring me here, and I don't know what to tell you right now. I really hope they can explain it better. Maybe we can just pop up and then head to the doctor to see if we can get you some help." Nino hid his chuckle, to seem like a sob, and bit his lip hard.

Alya glared, "There's nothing wrong with me. I don't know what's up with you, but it's not funny. I don't find any of this funny."

She stomped off the elevator as it reached the top floor, even though Alya had no idea where she was going. Seeing as there was only one door, on this entire floor, she could only assume this was the place. Her hand was up and knocking violently in an instant. "Open the damn door!"

* * *

Marinette had just finished her lamb stew and left it to simmer on the stove as she popped a pan of rolls into the oven. There was a loud, frantic knocking on the door with a demand to open up. She turned to look at Adrien who was wearing an equally large cheshire grin.

"I guess Nino kept up his end of the bargain," Adrien chuckled as he hurdled the couch to open the door. He smoothed down his vest as Marinette appeared next to him. She nestled under his arm and put on her sweetest, most innocent smile possible.

"You and me, Adrien," Marinette smirked, "We have to sell it."

"Can do!" he winked and squeezed her gently.

They'd talked, earlier, about what 'selling it' might entail. It gave him butterflies to think about, actually. Though they hadn't gone on a date, yet, Marinette was going to let that little technicality slide. If she had to kiss Adrien senseless to sell this mock-marriage, Marinette was going to slap on some chap stick and pucker up. Adrien had better have his kissing lips on if that time came because it had to be believable. This meant war. It was time for her 'well meaning,' albeit 'meddling,' friend to get her just due. It was all in good fun, honestly, because they still had Alya to thank for bringing them together, but Marinette still wasn't happy with her in the way it all went down. She wasn't supposed to know the baby was Adrien's, after all, but tonight Alya would know that she knew. It would all be unearthed right here.

Adrien reached across Marinette to pull the door open, revealing a red faced Alya. Her face transitioned from an expression of rage, to surprise, to confusion, to shock, to disbelief as her jaw dropped.

"NO WAY!!" she turned to Nino, who was giving Adrien and Marinette an apologetic look, "What the hell?"

Nino sidled up next to her and clapped his hands together nervously, "She sort of flipped out on the ride over."

Adrien and Marinette exchanged a quick, nervous glance before looking back to Nino. They were afraid he'd caved and confessed everything to Alya.

"Guys, we might need to cut tonight short. I might need to take Alya to get checked out. I don't know if she bumped her head or what."

Alya missed the quick wink Nino sent Adrien and Marinette's way, but they visibly relaxed and Marinette jumped forward to wrap her arms around Alya, "Are you okay, Alya? Do you need anything?"

"I need you all to give it to me straight and sort out all this ridiculousness."

Marinette gave Adrien and Nino a concerned look, very natural and everything, "I think we should all have a talk and see if we can help her."

"How about some wine first?" Alya exclaimed as she plopped down on the overstuffed couch in the living room.

Marinette sat on her right side and purposely reached out with her left hand to grab Alya's right. Alya caught a glint of reflection off of the noticeable bling on Marinette's hand and gasped, "HOLY SHIT!"

Marinette started to pull her hand back in alarm, "What!?" But Alya was too fast and snatched it up to her face.

"You...you...yoooouuu," she growled and turned to face Adrien. He waved timidly like he was trying not to scare her too bad. Alya saw the gold on his left hand glint in the light, "What the hell is going on?"

"What do you remember?" Marinette asked softly. Her approach was gentle with concern.

"You were at home yesterday. I went to Nino's. I spent the night, we took a nap this afternoon, and then headed over. That's it. You and Adrien were hanging out, last time I checked, and not in a romantic relationship, that's for dang sure."

"You don't remember the wedding?" Marinette asked, "At all?" She glanced over to Adrien, whose eyes were glinting with mischief, as she sold this story.

Adrien, bless him, had the most talented photo editors at his fingertips. It was easy to put some quick fake wedding photos together. They had them displayed in an album and then a bunch of falsified photos of events they'd attended. In fact, Nino was looking at some of their photos on the refrigerator in awe. They'd gone all out with this prank and he was really loving it.

"Wedding?!" Alya's eyes widened, "No. You guys aren't married. You guys didn't even talk to each other until I asked...uh, until about the time you were trying to have a baby."

Marinette nodded and bit her lip. _Oh, Alya, you boob_. "I don't think you are remembering everything clearly. Adrien and I talked a couple months back. He took me out to ice cream and we got to talking. He let it slip that he was the father of the baby and we decided to get married. You and Nino were there as witnesses at the courthouse."

"No...no, no, no," Alya started to really get freaked out now. Adrien was Marinette's baby's dad, but Marinette didn't know that. She glanced over to Adrien and Nino who were pretty chill with this declaration. So much so, Adrien sauntered up to behind the couch, grasped Marinette's hand, leaned over her and bestowed her with a sweet kiss full of love and caring. If she'd been paying closer attention, instead of melting down, she'd have noticed the extended glance shared that conveyed monumental importance. It would have revealed the newness of this gesture between them.

Seeing as she was having her own mental breakdown. _What is going on?_ "This can't be happening." Her face dropped into her hands and she blew out her air slowly. "I think I need to lie down. You all better not be messing with me. I'll kill you all."

Nino snickered into his arm, but deferred to Adrien and Marinette as far as the disclosure was concerned. Adrien walked back over to Nino and smirked. Alya was rattled.

Marinette frowned, but her lips quivered at the edges as Alya ran her fingers through her hair.

"This is nuts. You're all nuts. You can't have me believe this nonsense. I won't."

Marinette walked over to their bookcase and pulled out an album, "Here, Alya, maybe this will help refresh your memory."

Alya grabbed the book with shaky hands and opened it. She set her jaw and breathed heavily out her nose. Finally, she closed the book and handed it back to Marinette, gritting through her teeth, "This doesn't help with anything."

"No? You were there. You even caught the bouquet and Nino knew your engagement was fate."

Nino about had water come flying out of his nose at that. Fate. Marinette was preying on Alya's hopelessly romantic sensibilities.

"Those pictures would point to that," Alya conceded, "But I don't remember any of it. That didn't happen."

"It did," Adrien pointed out, "Remember when I shoved the butter cream frosting up Marinette's nose and you had to help her clean up afterwards?"

"Nooo," Alya dranked hesitantly. There was a slight tremor of doubt to her voice and Adrien cheered internally.

"Okay, okay," Marinette held her hands up and stood between Alya and Adrien, who was getting too much enjoyment out of Alya's now shaky resolve. She could just see him getting too into it and taking things too far. "Hey, how about I show you your dress?!"

"WHAT!?! You have it done?!" Alya was going to let the rest of the craziness slide at the prospect of seeing her dress.

"Of course!" Marinette grinned mischievously, "Come and see!"

Marinette led her down the hall to the second bedroom and opened the door. It revealed a little sewing room, a large dress form, and the ugliest, most god-awful gaudy dress she'd ever seen straight out of 1980s hell, where geometric patterns went to die. Except, instead of vibrant hues typical of that time period, this was all in pastels.

You see, until Adrien had suggested the whole 'fake marriage' sham, Marinette had been planning to prank Alya with her wedding dress. This was now the cherry on the top of she and Adrien's new elaborate plan. It was a garish design that she positively reveled in. She really had outdone herself, honestly, with the effort she went through to make it appear authentic.

Marinette tried desperately not to laugh as she danced around her creation. Truly, it was a 1980s formal dress she'd picked up at a vintage store, on clearance, that she'd decided to embellish a little for this project. Although, to her credit, she did take it in to M. Agreste to have him verify it's ugliness before trying to pass it off as Alya's wedding gown. Gabriel even went so far as to play along, personally hand sewing an old tag from his earlier works, into the bodice with the strict instructions to Marinette to tear it out and burn it when she was done with this ruse. She had yet to tell Adrien of his involvement.

"This isn't real," Alya gaped and glanced back to Marinette, "It's all fake. You're just having a go at me."

It wasn't hard to fake being disappointed, now that the cracks were starting to show and she had some practice. Marinette wore the frown and scoffed, "Alya, you're really starting to hurt my feelings now," she fake sniffled. "This is a Gabriel. How can you not like it? I spent hours making it for you." She stepped back and held a hand over her mouth to hide her smile. It had taken her hours, if buying it and waiting for Gabriel to have time to sew a tag in counts, and then all the pastel gossamer and organza.

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Alya groaned as she slipped the dress off of the form in disbelief. She dug through the dress, a look on her face very telling that she was desperately hoping this was all a very bad dream and her friend had not made this monstrosity with the official seal of approval from her highly particular boss...possible father in law. No, no, no. _Damn._ She found the tag and it was hand sewn with Gabriel's personal signature stitching. "I have to be dreaming."

"You really don't like it?" Marinette laid it on thick, lip quivering and all.

Alya cringed and scrunched up her face, "I guess it's not awful? It could grow on me, potentially, I guess."

Marinette decided it was time to confess or else she really would fear for their lives. Alya was starting to doubt herself and that's as far as they were going to take it. "Come on, Al. Let's go eat."

Marinette walked into the kitchen, where Adrien was waiting for her, overly enthusiastic to try another kiss before his opportunities to kiss her, under the guise of their ruse, was stripped away. He had thoroughly enjoyed he last one and looked forward to another at e earliest, plausible opportunity.

Luckily for Adrien, she walked right into his open arms, awaiting her to be reclaimed by his embrace. She looked up at him, about to speak, and instead moaned softly when he interrupted her with a more intense kiss than earlier. When she pulled back to look at him again, there was a softly excited expression to greet him. Marinette was beautiful and perfectly okay with what he had just done. Interesting.

"You were going to say something," he prodded gently, with a snicker, as she just stared up at him with a dazed expression.

Alya had returned. Nino went to hand her a glass, but instead, she stared at her friends in their saccharine display of affection and grabbed the open bottle of wine. Nino busted up laughing when she bypassed him entirely.

"Or you could just take the bottle," he chuckled. Alya made a 'guh' sound and flopped into a dining chair. She was settling in for a long night and wondering just how soon she could get in to see her therapist. 

Everyone gathered around the dining room table. Marinette brought the bread out of the oven and set it on the table. The lamb stew was in the middle with a ladle, "Go ahead and serve yourself."

Adrien passed around napkins, "Marinette is such a wonderful baker. She could easily give her parents' a run for their money."

"Not likely," she reached over and bopped his nose adoringly. Adrien grinned inwardly as he knew of another girl that would bop him sweetly on the nose. He realized then that he loved that especially from Marinette because of the affection behind it.

"Honest," he held his hand over his heart and gave her a toothy grin, "She spoils me."

Marinette really had to contain her laughter. He'd said that at lunch that afternoon after she'd treated him to breakfast not three hours before. If cooking for him three times a day was enough to receive such high praises she'd keep it up. Adrien was genuinely very appreciative and she adored being able to please him.

Alya just took the bottle, held it up as if to give a toast, before tipping it unceremoniously into her mouth. Nino glanced over to Adrien and Marinette, attempting not to burst out laughing at Alya's antics. She was rather over-dramatic in expressing her frustration.

"You all right, babe?" he asked as she set the bottle into the middle of the table with a loud 'clunk.'

"Just peachy!" she grimaced, "My best friend is married to your best friend. It's just _wonderful_ that they finally stopped being so blind to each other. I mean, in my reality, I suppose. The last thing I remember was them stupidly obsessing over each other with lovesick eyes that the other was equally blind to. This one," Alya groaned as she rolled her eyes, "Completely dismal with her unrequited love for that one. She'd have married him in a heartbeat back in lycee, regardless of the fact they knew nothing about each other. She'd melt and go gaga for a week if he touched her. Him, completely oblivious, and yet equally as infatuated. Oh, but he was much more cruel in his ignorance. Mari couldn't speak, no, but the blundering was adorable. At least she acted like Adrien was the center of her world and not just some other occupant. Nope, she never would do that to him, would she? Adrien on the other hand; boy, he just barely acknowledged her existence. He never let her know he found her even a hint attractive! What a jerk move, am I right?! No, I can only feel like this is how everything was supposed to be if they hadn't both been so stupid. Her being knocked up with his spawn in what can only be the beginning of a freaking fairy tale fantasy. Me, obviously, being a much more excellent wing-woman than I ever was able to be in my own recollection. Man, I must have been fan-freaking-tastic to get these--optimal results!" Alya finished her rambling and picked up the wine bottle. She swirled it with a frown, unaware of the sudden tense silence, "Hey, could someone get me another bottle? I'm out."

Nino glanced tensely to speechless Adrien, then Marinette, and back again, before looking over to Alya and grabbing the bottle roughly out of her hand, "Nope, babe, I think you're done."

"Like hell I'm done!" she screeched, "I'm not even completely dr--" Alya stopped when she saw Marinette tip her chin down and a tear streaked down her cheek, "Whoa, babe, are you okay?"

"Hormones," she sniffed and nodded as she hastily reached up to wipe the tears away, "Pregnancy sucks."

"I'm taking notes," Alya nodded and bit her lip. For some reason she felt suddenly uncomfortable, "Welp, looks like we should probably be heading home soon, eh, Nino?"

He glanced to Adrien, who was looking intently down at his plate, "Uh, I need to go over some best man stuff with my bro first, but then we can go." Nino stood up, dropped his napkin to the table, and lifted Adrien up out of his seat by his elbow. Adrien didn't put up any sort of resistance as he rose slowly out of his seat. Nino led him to one of the bedrooms and closed the door quietly with a click.

Adrien leaned back against the wall there and dropped to a sitting position. The night had started out so wonderfully. They'd gotten Alya, and yet, he couldn't help, but feel like he and Marinette were the butt of the joke.

"Dude...?"

Adrien forgot Nino was standing there and glanced up at him. His misty eyes were blurring the edges, but he could see Nino watching him with concern, "Yeah?"

"You all right?"

Adrien scoffed and shrugged, "What do you think? I'm told by your fiance that I was the biggest, most oblivous dick wad known to man in lycee. Oh, and get this, the most amazingly marvelous girl in existence was the one I was an oblivious dick to. Icing on the proverbial suck cake? We were mad about each other the whole time, but managed to royally screw it up. Yep, doing great. Just dandy." A hot tear stung down his cheek and he furiously rubbed it away.

Nino sighed heavily and sat down in front of his friend, "Do you want me to go get Marinette?"

Adrien's eyes flashed up to his and the corner of his mouth twitched, "That obvious?"

"You want to see her. I can tell. It's like this energy that radiates out of you, sending out a signal telling everyone that you need Marinette, and the only person who can't detect it is her."

Adrien laughed humorlessly, "Alya was right. We're idiots."

"I'll go get your girl, bud." Nino clapped a hand on Adrien's shoulder and gave him his most understanding smile, "I bet she could use the company. She was putting off the same 'Adrien only' vibes."

"Really?" Adrien smirked.

"Oh, yeah."

"What about Alya?"

Nino screwed his mouth over to the side, "Um...we'll wait until you guys have talked. I'll try to sober her up a little and then I'll let you guys talk. Looks like you guys were so good at convincing Alya that this whole practical joke kind of backfired, huh?"

Adrien leveled him with an unimpressed glare, "You think?"

Nino stood up and backed away, his hands held up defensively, "But I'm sure you already knew that. I'll go get Marinette."

Adrien dropped his face into his hands, running his fingers through his hair, and heaved a heavy sigh. This was all ridiculous. They had never anticipated Alya believing them so strongly and he glanced down absentmindedly at his hand. Maybe it was the miraculous's fault that people found him so easily believable. He didn't have a chance to ponder it any longer before there was a light knock on the door. It creaked open and Marinette peeked her head in.

She stepped in and quietly closed it behind her. There were two little shoes in his line of sigh when he heard, "Can we talk?"

He gestured for her to sit, "Sure."

Marinette didn't just sit in front of him, though. No, she climbed right up into his lap, much to his surprise, if the soft gasp that escaped his lips was any indication. She tucked her head under his chin and sighed, "This doesn't change anything, Adrien. We both know now that we liked each other back then. We've sort of talked about it, haven't we?"

"Did I really act like that in lycee?" he blurted out, "Did you feel like I didn't notice you?" Adrien had a sick feeling, in the pit of his stomach, that he'd accidentally made her feel any less special than she truly was in oblivious ignorance.

"No, you were always wonderful," she sighed and squirmed a little, "I just didn't think you noticed me like that."

"Alya is right. We're stupid," he nodded with finality.

Marinette, much to his surprise, began to laugh. It started soft, but before long she lost it in hysterics, "We really got her tonight, though."

Adrien grinned, "Yeah, we did."

"And you..." she poked his nose again, in that adorable way she had earlier, "Are such a flirt!"

"ME!?" he exclaimed in mock offense, "You were the one giving me the look!"

"You _kissed_ me!"

They both fell silent and stared at each other. They'd kissed each other and it wasn't the kind of kiss one would easily forget. No, they'd _really_ kissed. Sure, Adrien could try to pass it off as a joke, and Marinette could pretend she hadn't noticed, but there was a whole lot of 'something' there that wasn't any kind of pretend.

"I did," he finally nodded, his eyes still staring into her own. He wasn't about to deny it, not if he wanted more. "I'd like to again."

Marinette blushed and looked away, "A date, Adrien. We still have to go on a date."

"Oh, come on!" he exclaimed, very uncharacteristically, and pouted, "You know I'm going to be replaying those kisses over and over again in my head now. I'm crazy about you, Marinette."

She gasped. He'd never actually voiced anything like this before. She knew they were getting closer, and he wanted to try and be part of the baby's life, but he'd never actually expressed the extent of his feelings for her romantically. It was a bit of a shock.

"You are?"

He flushed and glanced away shyly, "I didn't mean to say that. I mean, I am, I just...you're not freaked out, are you? I know you want to take things slow, and maybe not at all, and I'm trying to respect your wishes, but I just...we've been hanging out a lot and I thought maybe we could be more."

Adrien stopped talking when two fingers pressed against his lips, "Adrien, when I say I want to go on a date with you, you know I'm letting you know that I want to try and make this official, right? I agreed to let us move in together. That has to tell you something!" Even if she couldn't make up her mind. Her actions were doing all the talking for her, apparently.

Adrien's mouth popped open momentarily before he snapped it shut with a loud 'pop.' "Uh..."

"You really are oblivious," she giggled, "I have ZERO time for relationships, mind you, which is why I keep waffling, and I'm so sorry. I can't help it. This isn't going to be easy for either of us. I'm not in a good place in my life for a romantic relationship. The maintenance required, without resenting each other, is impossibly intimidating to me. And you?! You're probably the person I'd hate most to disappoint in this world, so there's that. No pressure, right?"

He gave her a goofy, lopsided grin, "Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Our date." He reached out and took her hands in his own, "Don't be afraid, Marinette. I'm pretty optimistic. How does tomorrow sound?"

She had lunch planned with his father tomorrow, but she could do a date that night. Marinette leaned forward and tucked her face into his neck again, an excited sigh escaping, "Perfect."

"Great!" he grinned, "Now, let's go tell Alya she's gullible and remind her to mind her own business." He snorted in amusement at how that sounded; much more confident than he actually was in his ability to tell _her_ that. He valued his life. "Ready?"

She unfolded herself off of his lap and he stood to help her out of the floor, "Ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so grandparents weren't notified... _yet._ That IS coming! This chapter just ran away from me. I hope you like it anyway!
> 
> **If you see any mistakes, or have critiques, please do let me know in a respectful manner and I will try to address them. Thank you!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive! I promise.

Adrien and Marinette returned, holding hands, and sat on the love seat perpendicular to the couch Alya and Nino were currently sitting on. Alya was mumbling something unintelligible while Nino was nodding.

Finally, Nino turned to Marinette and Adrien, "Guys, Alya wants me to tell you she's sorry for her outburst. She knows her rant was unnecessary and uncalled for, but she's being a coward so she's making me apolo--"

"Damn, Nino!" she exclaimed finally, "Fine, I'm sorry! Okay?! I'm sorry I lost it and blathered on about some alternate reality that you all couldn't care less about. It's just that, I feel like I'm losing my mind tonight and I can't figure it out. The whole day feels like an episode out of the twilight zone and here I'm thinking the last decade of my life is a big lie. Besides, Marinette, girl, I'm really sorry, but that dress is just hideous. It is so ugly 80s that I couldn't wear that even if it is a Gabriel. There's no way--"

"Alya, it's all a lie," Marinette smirked.

"What."

"The dress isn't a Gabriel. It was one I bought at a thrift store a while ago. I just convinced Gabriel to sew the tag into it for me so I could mess with you. I had to promise, with threat of never working in fashion again, to remove it as soon as tonight was over." Marinette began to giggle at Alya's wide eyed stare.

Alya Cesaire was speechless.

"Yeah, and we're not married," Adrien removed the cheap, fake wedding band from his finger and tossed it onto the coffee table, "We made it all up. Oh, and we don't live together, either. This is one of the furnished apartments my father keeps for clients. Marinette and I just took photos and photoshopped the rest to make it look believable." He gestured to the walls and smirked.

The whole while, Alya sitting still as a stone, her face rapidly draining of color.

It took them all a moment to realize Alya's condition. "You okay, babe?" Nino asked timidly, "You look like you're going to be sick."

"I feel like I'm going to be sick." Alya stood and ran to the bathroom. The door slammed and Marinette glanced around the room guiltily.

"I'll go check on her."

Marinette knocked on the door, but there was no response. "Alya?" she cracked the door open and peeked inside. Alya was perched on the side of the tub with her head in her hands. "You okay?"

"You all ssssuuuuuuCK," she groaned, "I'm not sober enough to put up with this **shit**."

Marinette grinned, "You can't say you didn't deserve it."

"How is it you're not freaking out about this?" Alya leaned back and gesticulated wildly before freezing. Her face contorted into one of flustered amusement and she pointed at Marinette menacingly. "Yooouuu," she growled, "You knew all along, didn't you?"

"Knew what?" Marinette said innocently, slowly backing towards the door.

"That Adrien was the donor. You KNEW!!" Alya stood into a lunging position and Marinette squeaked as she ran back towards the living room. It wasn't a moment too soon, as Alya rocket launched herself after her. "You guys played me!"

"Like a fiddle," Adrien called from his spot on the couch, moments before Marinette pounced on his lap.

"SAVE ME!" she whined with a chuckle.

Alya was quickly approaching, "Let her fight her own battles, Agreste."

"Never," he grinned.

At about that time, Nino burst out laughing, "AH...hahahaha! They got you sooo good, babe. Damn, they really had you going. This was beautiful; performance art at it's finest. I'm honored they let me be a...babe. Babe? Why are you...oh shit." Nino flipped backwards over the back of the couch as Alya redirected her attention towards her fiance.

"Someone's sleeping on the couch!" she growled.

Nino chuckled, "Sure. I can say I did, even if I don't, right? It's not like you're going to be there."

"The whole first week of marriage."

"Ooooh, ouch!" Nino grabbed his gut, "You don't mean that."

"I don't," she shouted, "But don't tempt me, Lahiffe!"

He grinned, "But I thought you liked being tempted."

"I do." She winked at Nino and grinned, "Let's go home then and you can make it up to me." She grabbed her purse, "Thank you all for the amazing dinner. I think I need to go and lick my wounds since my best friends AND my fiance _betrayed_ me." She smirked. They knew she wasn't serious, but it was getting late.

"Oh, I could help lick your wounds," Nino hummed.

"Eww!" Marinette and Adrien both exclaimed in unison.

Nino completely ignored them as he chased after Alya, "Thanks guys!"

"Have you learned your lesson, Al?" Marinette asked as she opened the front door.

"And what lesson is that?"

"Not to meddle in other people's lives?"

Alya thought for a moment and grinned, "Nope." She quickly pulled Nino after her through the door and closed it.

"She'll never change," Adrien snickered and shook his head.

"Yeah, well, I guess I really wouldn't want her to. I hope she thinks everything through in the future, though."

"I think she will," he nodded. Adrien wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly, "We'll never let her forget this."

"Not ever," Marinette agreed.

She glanced down at his arms around her and sighed. Was he still playing or could they just do this all the time? The way he held her so gently; it just felt right. She wanted this. They were pseudo-dating, right? Technically, this was something of a date. Plus, they played happy families already, pretending they were married, and they shared a passionate, heated kiss.

In that moment she realized she was still in love with Adrien Agreste. No doubts about it. All of the pauses she'd been putting up as roadblocks to her own happiness evaporated with the heat of his body against hers. Yep, it was time to allow herself the chance to be happy even if there was a chance it might not work out.

"Adrien?"

"Hmm?"

She played with his fingers where his hands were wrapped around her waist, "Would you want to be my boyfriend?"

Silence.

_Great, Marinette, he's been after you this whole time, finally, after years, and you go and miss your shot. You already managed to botch it. Quick, take it back!_

"It's not...you don't..."

"Yes."

....."What?!"

"Yes I do." His arms tightened around her and she felt his chin drop to her collar bone from behind, "I'll take whatever you'll give me, Marinette. Friend, father, boyfriend, husband...you just say the word and I'm yours."

She snorted, "Don't you think you're jumping the gun a little there? Husband? That's marriage. Marriage is like semi-permanent."

"More permanent than a child?"

Marinette giggled nervously, "I see your point."

"Plus, wouldn't it be fun to go to Alya and Nino's wedding already married?"

"NO!!" she exclaimed, "She'd kill me!!"

"Okay, okay, engaged then."

Marinette sighed, "Oh, God, what is happening? My life is like a soap opera and I'm not even sure which part of the season I'm in. This could all go horribly horribly wrong."

"Soaps?" Adrien chuckled.

"Shut up. I don't watch them for a reason."

"Hey, neither do I!" he exclaimed excitedly, "Different reason, but at least we have that much in common."

"I can't handle the corniness of the drama. Why don't you watch them?"

"Err, um, let's just say that once you've been ON one it loses it's magic."

"You were on a soap opera? When?!"

"When my mom was around. She wasn't in them, but she filmed in the sound stage next door. The director of 'Our Life' saw me playing, often, and eventually asked who I was. Then he said he had a spot that needed a kid of my age. He got permission from my mother and that's what I did for three years until my character was shipped off to boarding school never to be heard from again except for in scripted letters and phone calls."

"Adrien Agreste, fashion model extraordinaire and former childhood television star. I never knew that."

"Yeah, well, they used to put me in this awful wig, stuffy business attire, and glasses. I didn't look like _me_ at all," he paused for a minute and glanced down at himself before biting his lip to laugh, "Uh, never mind. I didn't look like my normal self at the time. I guess I looked a lot like how I look now."

Marinette giggled, "Glasses, stuffy business attire, dirty blonde hair...yep." She paused for a second before gasping, "WAIT!?!? My mom used to watch 'Our Life.' You were that kid--Henry..."

"Godot," Adrien smirked, "Yep."

"You were cute," Marinette grinned as she turned back to look at him. "What happened?"

A shrill squeal peeled out of her as Adrien mercilessly attacked her sides and ribs with his fingertips, "What?! What was that? I don't think I heard you?"

"I take it back!!" she shrieked, "I take it back! You're cute. You're cuuUUTE!!!!"

Adrien pulled away and nodded, "Damn right I'm cute."

"Conceited much?"

"No," he pouted, "I'm Adrien Agreste, seeker of truth and justice, at your service."

"You are incorrigible."

* * *

Gabriel waited patiently, sipping his peach concoction while waiting for Mlle Dupain-Cheng to arrive. He'd used these small 'stolen moments,' as he had come to refer to them, as time for self-reflection. In his recent past, he'd made some mistakes that he regretted terribly. Whispers around Paris were never ceasing about Hawk Moth and what could have made him give up his conquest for miraculous domination. The answer was simple, really. _His son._

When Adrien graduated lycee, there was a shift in dynamics in the house. It was sobering, really, how much Gabriel relied on his son for his own mental well-being. The moment Adrien told him he had no intention of taking over the business, instead to become a science teacher, Gabriel nearly feinted. He'd released two akumas that day, but no matter, he didn't feel a purpose behind them anymore. He could only make one wish with both miraculouses. Even if he wished to have his family back, he couldn't change the memories that Adrien had of him in recent years. If that was what had driven the wedge between them then the quest for miraculouses was all for nought.

No, it was Nathalie who posed the question one day, "What is more important to you, sir? Your wife? Or your son?"

He thought about it for weeks. Mme. Agreste left. She was still out there, not dead, and she hadn't come back home to him and his son. It was easy to be angry and bitter about it, but he still loved her dearly. He just wanted one chance to plead his case, to apologize, and to fix it all, but no matter what, he would lose Adrien and she still might choose to leave again. It was a risk he couldn't afford to take.

Adrien's first year at university allowed for even more reflection. He still released akumas, occasionally, though with much less passion in it. He didn't want to keep Paris plagued by fear so he had to make sure they knew he was losing interest, or fervor, in his quest for the stones. It took two years.

The third year, he focused on his career. He'd have to make an effort to draw Adrien back into the industry in a way that he was amenable to. Force did not work. Bribery did not work. Threats didn't work. A multitude of manipulations did not work. No, the only thing he hadn't tried was making the whole idea appealing to him. It would take a lot of work. In this year he remembered a friend of Adrien's who had been interested in fashion. She was a sweet girl, a little odd, but memorable. In fact, he remembered seeing her often at events Adrien attended which made him believe she might be a very close friend of his son's. He had Nathalie reach out to her.

The fourth, and final year, of Adrien's university experience was a whirlwind for Gabriel. When he'd hired Mlle Dupain-Cheng he had done purely with the intent to lure his son back. What he hadn't expected was her extraordinary ability and natural talent. He had been so pleasantly surprised, and pleased beyond any sense of reason, that he had almost forgotten why he'd hired her in the first place. Gabriel even found her passion infectious as he rediscovered his own new inspiration! He hadn't been this productive and enthusiastic about his work for some time. Even Nathalie pointed out the change in his overall mood and the sudden burst in sheer volume of quality work he'd created. His plan had backfired; he just wasn't aware of it.

He found himself talking more and more about Adrien and his accomplishments, without any regard to whether or not he came back to the company. Adrien would still inherit the lion's share of the company stock, but didn't attend board meetings or give input. Gabriel was unaware of when he stopped prompting Adrien to come back, but he eventually did. Instead, he had a new protege to focus on grooming to take over his job someday. Regardless of whether or not Adrien wanted to run the company, he would need a designer to pick up where he left off. In his absence, he knew he'd need to find someone capable of the task; enter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

She climbed the rungs of Gabriel at a record pace. She'd started as an intern, just out of a short design school program, when he discovered her. Marinette jumped into the work and was quickly promoted. Her ability, and output, was matched by none. No one suspected she was sleeping her way up because the evidence of her efforts spoke for itself. When she became V.P., and started coming to board meetings, there was another shift Gabriel hadn't expected.

There were only four other board members and their secretaries at the meetings; the members were three men and one woman. They'd all gotten so used to it just being the five of them that meetings were stagnant and unproductive. Marinette's new perspective on things, and her youthful energy, was just what they needed to get back into the swing of things. _Gabriel_ was still the epitome of fashion, but their customer base was very narrow. Marinette wanted to increase the size of their target audience while simultaneously making sure that they didn't lose any quality and maintained their elite reputation. It was a win-win and _Gabriel_ quickly found itself at the top once again.

He felt very protective of Marinette. It was almost like having Adrien back, but instead of a son he had a daughter. Gabriel could safely say he enjoyed her company. With this second chance at being a mentor, an opportunity to do it right, he began grooming her to be his successor. Their relationship was very professional, and yet, there was a familiarity and mutual affection between them.

It was when Marinette began feeling sick at board meetings, excusing herself at odd times, and always snacking that Gabriel began to have an inkling that she was pregnant. It was her increase in water consumption, while simultaneously turning down coffee, that really gave her away. He _knew_ then, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was pregnant. Her constant nausea at the smell of ham emanating from M. Peu that gave him the idea to arrange fragrances with her new line of women's florals. It was perfect.

Gabriel's distant interest in Marinette's pregnancy, happy as a family friend would be, morphed rapidly when it was brought to his attention that she was spending an inordinately large portion of her down time with his son. That could only mean one thing, but he had to be sure. Gabriel felt almost like a giddy school child when he saw she'd arranged a lunch date with him. It was like she'd read his mind. Gabriel wondered if the rekindling of his relationship with his son had anything to do with Marinette. He wouldn't be surprised if it did.

A hand came to rest gently on his shoulder and Gabriel turned.

"M. Agreste," Marinette smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, I should have told you I was bringing company." She gestured to Adrien and Gabriel's eyes lit up; not that anyone except Adrien could tell.

Adrien felt a swell of emotion rise in his chest when he saw a flicker of joy on his father's face at seeing him. "Good afternoon, father."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To preface: I'm sorry for the delay. I'm still in delay, unfortunately, but managed to sit down and finish this chapter that I've been working on for some time. I'm afraid 'life' is happening and I'm finding it difficult to find time to write.
> 
> If there are mistakes, please do tell me, respectfully, and I will try to correct it. I don't even remember my own stories sometimes or where I was going. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter, though!
> 
> **Comment encouragement always welcome!**


	15. Chapter 15

Gabriel stood, “Good afternoon, Adrien.” He gave a curt nod in greeting. There had been such a long time since they’d been in such close quarters that Gabriel couldn’t shake the stiffness residing in his shoulders.

Adrien stood there, equally stiff. He was aware he was holding tension throughout his shoulders, as the years of camera directors shouting at him to relax had trained him to recognize, but for some reason he couldn’t shake it out. The sight of his father, for the first time excited to see him, brought some mixed emotions. He didn’t want to get his hopes up. They both had quite a bit to gain if his went right, but equally as much to lose should it sour.

They both appeared a little sheepish, actually.

Marinette glanced between the two in disbelief, “Ahem.”

The Agreste men wore their matching expressions of shame, only a moment more, before stepping forward to awkwardly embrace each other.

“That wasn’t so hard now was it,” Marinette chuckled. She stepped forward and thoughtlessly reached up for Gabriel’s face to place kisses to either cheek in greeting. “It’s so nice to see you.”

“Is it?” he smirked.

Adrien’s eyes about bugged out of his head at the playful exchange. This man dressed like his father, sounded like his father, smelled like his father, even resembled the man, but he did not act like his father.

“Of course!” she insisted, “You’re my second favorite Agreste!” She turned to wink at Adrien playfully. Marinette didn’t even mind when it fell flat because Adrien was still staring dazedly at the elder Agreste.

Gabriel pulled out the chair for Marinette to sit. Adrien scrambled to help, blinking away the fog of his frazzled mind.

The two men both settled into their own seats and Gabriel glanced over to Marinette, beaming, “Marinette, my dear, you are absolutely glowing.”

“Pregnancy does wonders for the skin,” she chuckled and glanced down at her bulging abdomen. It was pressed outward right up against the table and she was afraid she might not be able to reach her plate. It was really getting ridiculous. At seven and a half months, her measured circumference was rapidly catching up to her height. She sighed in frustration.

“How have you been, father?” Adrien asked, his genuine curiosity getting the best of him.

Gabriel took a quick swig of ice water before clearing his throat and letting his eyes dart around nervously. This was the chance he was waiting for. Every movement, every word, every single facial expression needed to be measured so he could repair what little relationship he had left with his son. “Everything has been going well.” _Credit where credit is due._ “In large part, thanks to Marinette,” he gestured to a swiftly blushing Marinette. “Our margins have never been better, the business is really booming.”

“That’s wonderful!” Adrien nodded and smiled, “She has always been talented.”

There was a pause and Gabriel felt like he was grasping at a fleeting moment of opportunity, but couldn’t figure out what to say to fill it. Then, it hit him. Show interest in Adrien and his life. “How do you enjoy being an educator, Adrien?”

The grin that split Adrien’s face told Gabriel he had done something right, finally. “I love it! I really do. I get to see these kids learning new things every day and it is amazing! They come in with stories and their new understanding of how the world works, all because of something I taught them. I couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else. I love teaching.”

Gabriel leaned back in surprise. He hadn’t quite expected that level of enthusiasm from his generally stoic son. He nodded and struggled to come up with a response, “That’s…wonderful. I am pleased you are doing so well and enjoying your career choice.”

Adrien knew that his father was trying and he was going to take it. “Yes, I am. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”

Marinette smirked over, knowing that wasn’t true. He’d mentioned a few times that he missed some things about modeling now and again and he missed traveling to other countries for photo shoots. Plus, he thoroughly enjoyed talking about fashion with Marinette at home, and discussing the business aspects of everything. He acted almost like he’d been starved when he reconnected with Marinette. Her position didn’t afford for her to stop working at home, even with guests. They just had to get used to it. Adrien, however, was there for it and an active participant. Obviously, it wasn’t enough for him to go back to working for Gabriel, but there were times he _could_ imagine doing something else. She’d let him have it though.

Adrien rolled his eyes as he read the message Marinette was silently throwing his way. He was _not_ going to open that can of worms in front of his father. One, he wasn’t getting his hopes up, and two, he wasn’t giving him any fodder to try and persuade him back into it. If he was ever getting back into the fashion business he’d be doing it on his own terms in his own time.

Gabriel wilted slightly, however, and Adrien perked up, “I’m interested to hear what is going on with the company.” And he was, genuinely interested.

As if given a second wind, Gabriel folded his cloth napkin in his lap and dove into it, “Miraculously, our quarterly reports continue to improve. There has to be a ceiling, but we have yet to find it. I do believe a large part of our current success is due to the efforts of Mademoiselle Dupain-Cheng.”

“Wow, Marinette,” Adrien beamed at the suddenly bashful girl next to him.

“I’m sure it is due to a team effort,” she grinned, “Lots of people work at the company. The morale has improved over the past year I’ve been in my current position. I really think M. Agreste has been improving, too, which is directly responsible to the growth.”

Gabriel cleared his throat uncomfortably at the compliment and nodded. He managed to mutter out an ‘of course,’ and tried to make the fact she had complimented him disappear. Marinette noticed. Adrien did, too. Some things never change.

“Father, we do have some things we would like to discuss.” Adrien poked around at the appetizer nervously and gulped.

Marinette’s eyes widened minutely as she realized he was jumping into this now. This was happening now. He was telling him about their relationship. Oh boy.

“Marinette and I have been meaning to talk to you about something.”

Gabriel glanced between the two and smirked to himself. Of course they were.

“I am still going to teach at the school,” he started, holding his hands up to diffuse any such notion of coming to work for him, “But we have agreed that I should move in with Marinette to help with the baby. Alya and Nino are getting married, so Alya will be moving out soon, and she’ll need a lot of help with a new baby and her long work hours.”

Confusion washed over both Marinette and Gabriel’s faces as neither expected that to be the discussion today. Marinette thought they’d be telling Gabriel they were pseudo-engaged, or something. Gabriel thought Adrien was going to tell him that he was Marinette’s baby’s father. Neither of those happened.

“Are you two?” Gabriel gestured between the two.

“Dating?”

“Yes!” Marinette spoke up, quickly to squelch any sort of skirting around the issue Adrien might do under the scrutiny of his father. “We are dating.”

Adrien nodded and glanced down at his fingers, which were nervously fiddling with the frayed edges of the table cloth. “It’s new,” he said quietly and bit his lip. He feared his father might be upset with him dating one of his favorite employees, especially since he’d said nothing to him earlier. They weren’t really on speaking terms these days, however, so he wasn’t sure how to address it.

Gabriel visibly deflated. This was not the news he was hoping or looking for, but felt he shouldn’t push the issue. They would tell him if Adrien were the father, wouldn’t they?

“The dating is very new,” Marinette nodded, “But we have been friends for a _long_ time. It seems only natural that we should date.”

“And live together,” Gabriel’s eyebrow rose incredulously, “Is there more to this?” Slight push.

Adrien and Marinette shared a silent exchange with just their eyes, debating what the other would or wouldn’t say, before Marinette decided to take charge, “I will need his help and I appreciate that he’s willing to do this, especially since this is all new.”

“It’ll be fine,” he reached over and grabbed Marinette’s hand above the table and squeezed it.

“If you are saying that my son, helping you at home, will help my company, then I am by all means supportive of this agreement,” Gabriel nodded with finality, “If anything does change, however, do be sure to let me know.”

“Absolutely,” Adrien nodded, “I will let you know.”

Gabriel had been looking at the logistics of setting up a daycare at Gabriel, but this scenario would make that much less critical. Although, with the way Marinette had been discussing opening the company up to employees with children, it was still on the docket.

They all finished their lunch, discussing the latest projects while encouraging input from Adrien, before separating. It was a weekend, after all.

“I think that went well.”

“I do, too!” Marinette grinned excitedly, “I wasn’t sure he’d be that supportive.”

Adrien smirked and sighed, “I wasn’t, either. I can honestly say that was the best interaction I have had with my father…maybe ever.”

* * *

Marinette rolled her rotund abdomen to the side, rocking back and forth to build momentum, as she attempted to roll over and upwards out of bed.

"Gah!" she groaned as she dropped one foot beneath her to keep from falling face first into the floor.

It had been three weeks since lunch with Gabriel and she felt like her abdomen had doubled in size. 

She'd been running herself ragged, too, seeing as Alya and Nino's wedding was fast approaching. Marinette was bummed she missed Alya's bachelorette party. Bummed didn't even begin to cover it. She was devastated. Marinette insisted on lots of photographs of her best friend so she could partake. Her ankles were swollen and the doctor had told her to limit her excitement. Being pregnant sucks sometimes.

Her ankles were still rather swollen, actually. Two days ago was a bachelorette party, which she missed, just so she could go to the rehearsal dinner. She refused to miss them both, but took the threat of bed-rest seriously.

Adrien was constantly texting her for updates on her status to see if she needed any help. Alya was pretty overprotective, too. Marinette wondered when she'd lost the ability to be a responsible adult. It was like her friends thought she was helpless and pregnancy lead to simple-mindedness. It was infuriating. In fact, Marinette had broken down in tears over it no less than twice a week for the last month. She was so over being pregnant.

Adrien had been a saint. The night of the bachelorette party, he'd come over and let her curl up against his side to cry about missing out on a once in a lifetime event. He listened to her lament pregnancy and never judged her or told her she should feel differently. No, he let her just sob and get it out and tried to soothe her with understanding. Marinette wasn't aware, but Adrien related far more than she could ever imagine. His teenage years had been him missing out on events with his friends. Sure, he had been given a few opportunities, but many were 'no-no's.'

Tonight was the rehearsal dinner so she had to get her big girl pants pulled up and her game face on. It was go time.

She walked over to her closet and glanced in the mirror. Her nap hadn't smudged any of her makeup so she was good to go there. Thank heavens! One fitted pull-over dress, some tasteful tights, a pair of leather flats, and she'd be in there.

Ding-dong.

Pop-pop-pop. She popped her freshly glossed lips in the mirror and pursed. They shined and shimmered beautifuly.

Ding-dong.

Marinette hopped over to the door and opened it. Adrien stood with an arm full of boxes that nearly toppled out of his arms.

"Fanks!" he mumbled around a mouthful of letters. She snatched them out of his mouth and tried not to giggle. He set the packages on the table and sighed, "I guess you ordered some stuff?"

"No," she shook her head, "But it looks like my patterns were finalized."

Adrien's eyes widened, "Those are patterns!?!?"

"Lord, no," she shook her head, "These are the mock-ups. The patterns are vaulted. These are the nearly finished products. I just have to put them on a form, make notes of my adjustments, and send them back."

"Oh!" Adrien squinted at the boxes. There were four very large boxes, "How many are there?"

"One per box. Gabriel is a bit paranoid and wants non-descriptive packaging so no one tries to nab one. I can't really go in to work every day to do this, and these are my personal creations, so this was our compromise."

He just stared a moment more before nodding back at her, "You ready to go?"

"Where?"

"The rehearsal dinner," he stated as he tapped his watch, "I figured you and I could go together."

"On your bike?"

Adrien rolled his eyes, "My father sent a car to my place today." Marinette stared incredulously. "I know, right?! I was just as shocked as you, but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth here, if you know what I mean."

It was then that she realized, after he'd deposited her packages, that he was dressed rather dapper. He was in a fitted suit, with a split breast, and donned black suede shoes. His hair was combed, but off and around the sides instead of straight back. His french cuff shirt was fastened with round silver cuff links and solitaire peridots. The green sparkled up at her like the twinkling of his own green eyes.

"You look beautiful, Marinette," he said softly.

His voice broke through her trance and she shook her head to clear it. "Thank you. You do, too. Handsome, I mean."

He grinned down at her and offered an arm, "Shall we?"

Marinette glanced down at her shoes, where the leather strap was wrapped around her foot, and could see the puffiness of her swollen feet already. She stifled a sigh and reached out to grasp his offered arm, "Lead the way."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize I'm way behind on all my stories, even this one, but I'm in a bit of a crazy time in life. I do have every intention to get back into writing regularly once I have the time. 
> 
> This isn't as long as I'd hoped, but decided I'd go ahead and post what I did have so you wouldn't have to wait forever. I really don't know when I'll have more written.
> 
> I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!


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